Road to Recovery
by Tina101
Summary: Sequel to Her Story, follow up on Gabi as Ian returns for one final time. Rated just in case, nothing too bad though.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1:**

She could still see his face. Two months later, it still haunted her dreams. She could feel his hands on her. She let out a scream of terror, and her eyes flew open. Gabriella Montez was lying in her own bed, covered in a cold sweat. Her Mom came rushing into the room after hearing her screams.

"Gabi! Mija, are you alright?" Rosa Montez asked as she sat down on the edge of her daughter's bed. Gabriella sat up, and nodded slightly. "Did you have another bad dream?" Gabriella nodded again. Rosa pulled her daughter into a warm hug. "I don't know if I feel comfortable leaving you alone for the weekend. What if you need me? I'll be in Louisiana, so I won't be able to get home quickly."

"Don't worry, mamí, if I need anything, Troy and his parents live right down the street; I can call them." In truth, Gabriella wasn't so sure about staying alone herself, but her Mom really wanted to go to that conference, so she was going to let her go. Her Mom would hardly leaver her alone for five minutes; she needed some time to herself. Rosa gave her daughter a kiss on the top of the head.

"If you're sure. Sleep well, mija." Gabriella lay back down in bed, and her Mom covered her with the thick coverlet. Then, she silently slipped out of the room, turning off the lights, and closing the door behind her. Gabriella settled back down into a restless, dreamless sleep.

The rest of that week, Gabriella didn't tell anyone about her nightmares. Anyone, but, of course, her boyfriend Troy Bolton. On Friday, Gabriella was standing at her locker when she felt a pair of arms around her waist, and a pair of lips on her neck. She turned her head, and saw Troy standing there.

"Hey baby," she said as she went back to digging her books out of her locker. "What's up?"

"I wanted to see if my wonderful girlfriend would like to walk to lunch together. You wouldn't have happened to have seen my girlfriend would you?" Gabriella laughed.

"Hmm…Troy Bolton's girlfriend? Sorry, no. Maybe Sharpay would know." This time, both of them laughed. Troy spun Gabriella around, and pushed her against the locker. "Troy!" she shrieked. Several passing students ignored them; they were used to any couple getting close in the hallways between classes. "If your Father comes by here, we're both dead!" She giggled. "What?"

"You're laugh. You have the most beautiful laugh in the entire world." Gabriella blushed several shades of red. "You're still coming to movie night at my house, right?" Gabriella nodded. It had become a tradition with the entire gang. Every other weekend, everyone would get together at someone's house (they kept a list to make sure things were fair), and the host would rent a movie, and everyone would bring snacks and drinks.

"Of course." Gabriella closed her locker, and slipped her hand into Troy's as they began to walk towards the cafeteria. "What movie did you get?"

"_Rent_."

"Did you rent it? I told you that I own that movie!"

"I know, that's where I got the idea to rent it, so you'd stop bugging me about seeing it."

"But why did you rent it if you knew I had it. You just wasted your money."

"Well…it wasn't my money exactly. My Dad went to rent some weird movie, so I asked him to pick it up for me. It was his money, not mine, so it's not my problem." Gabriella smiled as she planted a kiss on her boyfriend's cheek.

"You're impossible sometimes, you know that right?" Troy shrugged.

"But you love me anyway."

"The jury's still out on that one there." Troy pouted, and began to pull Gabriella away from the cafeteria. "Wait, where are we going?"

"Up to our secret spot to be alone for the first time in a week," Troy whispered in her ear. Gabriella knew what that meant. It meant, "We haven't made-out in a week, and I'm lonely", but she obliged anyway.

Troy pulled Gabriella up to the roof-top garden that stood on top of the second floor of the school. Both lovers dropped their backpacks on the ground, and settled down on the green bench at the far end of the garden. Gabriella immediately pulled Troy close to her, and began to kiss him passionately. Troy deepened the kiss, causing her to groan slightly. Gabriella opened her eyes partially, and something, or rather someone, caught her attention in the parking lot below. She immediately gasped, and jumped away from Troy.

"What, what's wrong baby?" Troy asked in a soothing voice as a few tears slid down Gabriella's cheek. He carefully brushed them away with his thumb. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, nothing's wrong," Gabriella said, even though she knew that Troy would never believe her when she told him that.

"Come on, Gabi, you can tell me."

"I don't want to talk about it!" she snapped. Troy immediately backed away. He didn't want his girlfriend mad at him, especially when he had something _very_ important to give her. Gabriella stood up abruptly, and grabbed her backpack. "I just remembered that I have some homework to get done in the library," she said quickly. "I'll see you after school? We're still walking home together right?" Troy looked up, he had been thinking about what Gabriella could be keeping from him.

"What? Oh, yeah. I'll meet you by your locker." Gabriella blew Troy a kiss, and bound down the steps, leaving the basketball star alone to his own thoughts. Gabriella had seen something that had clearly gotten her upset, and now refused to talk about it. The last time she had been so secretive was when…no it couldn't be. Troy looked over the brick edge of the garden into the parking lot. No, Ian wasn't there…or so he thought.

**A/N:** For any of you (I don't think there are any, but hey, just in case) who are reading _Off-Camera_, chapter 6 is up. For those who don't know what I'm talking about, it's a behind-the-scenes on _Rent_ type thing, you can find out how to get it in the author's notes in _La Vie Bohemé_.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2:**

Troy met Gabriella by her locker after school, but didn't dare mention her actions during lunch. Together, they walked hand-in-hand out of the building, and down the street towards Gabriella's house.

"Hey, Gabi, can I talk to you about something?" Troy asked when they were about halfway home. Gabriella looked at him.

"Sure. What is it?" Troy reached into his jeans pocket, and pulled something out. Gabriella looked at his hand, slightly confused.

"Do you know how much I love you?" Gabriella nodded. "Okay, good, I have this for you." Troy opened his hand, and revealed a pink sapphire cut into the shape of a heart with two deep blue sapphires on either side in a sterling silver setting. Gabriella gasped.

"Oh Troy, it's beautiful!" she exclaimed.

"This is a promise ring. I promise to always be with you, no matter what. Once we're old enough, I'll eventually get you a new ring." Silent tears slid down Gabriella's face as her boyfriend slid the ring onto her ring finger. "I talked to your Mom about this the other day, and she's cool with it, so you don't have to worry about her flipping out. My parents are cool with this too." Gabriella was relieved. She was afraid that both their parents would think that they were too young. They were juniors in high school though, so it wasn't like they were really young. They had been dating for almost two years! Gabriella kissed Troy tenderly on the lips.

"Come on, let's get home. I want to get some homework done before I go to your house."

"I'll race you then if you're in such a rush! Loser has to buy dinner next time we go out!" Gabriella rolled her eyes, but gave in to the absurd suggestion. Both stood next to each other on the sidewalk. "Ready?" She nodded. "On your mark, get set, GO!" Both teenagers took off running down the sidewalk at top speed. They rounded the corner to Gabriella's block at the same time. Neither one of them noticed the white car parked across the street until Gabriella spun around once she had reached the door. She was about to do a victory dance when the car caught her eye. "What's wrong?"  
"That car," she said slowly. "That car was there when I left for school this morning."

"Maybe it's the neighbor's." Gabriella shook her head.

"No, it's not the neighbor's. They're out of town visiting their daughter in New England or something. We're bringing in their mail and everything." Troy wrapped a protective arm around her shoulder.

"Come on, let's go inside. Oh, I guess I owe you dinner next time we go out."

"See, that's not fair, because you pay for dinner anyway, so it doesn't count. I want something else." Gabriella pouted as the couple entered her house. Troy chuckled.

"Something else? Like what? What could Miss Gabriella Montez, the girl who has the brains, the looks, and the perfect boyfriend possibly want?" She shrugged.

"As soon as I figure it out, I'll let you know." Troy sighed, women.

Gabriella pulled two cans of soda out of the refrigerator and a bag of chips out of the pantry as Troy made himself comfortable on the couch.

"So your Mom left you home alone all weekend?" he asked. Gabriella set the snacks down on the coffee table, and sat down next to him.

"Until Sunday evening. Yeah, why?" A boyish grin spread across Troy's face.

"Do you know what that means?"

"I think I may have an idea."

"It means I can do this-" Troy kissed her gently on the lips. "Without being interrupted by anyone if we stay at your house." Gabriella smiled.

"Just that?" She pulled Troy close to her, and her lips came crashing down on his. Troy deepened the kiss as Gabriella pulled him on top of her. After a few minutes, she pulled away. "When's the last time we kissed for that long without any interruptions?"

"Well, between my Mom, my Dad, _your_ Mom, Chad, Taylor, Kelsi, Jason, Sharpay, Ryan, Zeke, and Bri, not to mention Darbus, I'd have to say about three weeks." Gabriella giggled again. Troy was about to lean in for another kiss when his cell phone began to ring. Sighing, he dug the intruder out of his pant pocket, and looked at the Caller I.D. "Speaking of my Mom." He answered the phone, told his Mom that he was at Gabi's for a little while, and what kind of pizza to order for that night. When he was done, he turned off his phone, and slid it across the coffee table. "Now, where were we?" he asked Gabriella. She took his face in her hands.

"I do believe that we were right about here." She pulled his lips against hers in a passionate kiss. In only a few seconds, Troy was on top of Gabriella, completely oblivious to the world around him.

After several long, glorious minutes of making out, both Troy and Gabriella stopped, gasping for air. Gabriella rolled over, so she was on top of Troy, and rested her head on his chest. Troy gently ran his fingers through her dark hair.

"Do you want to tell me about why you flipped out earlier during lunch?" he asked her.

"Not really. I promise I'll tell you, just not right now." Troy accepted her answer. He knew that she'd tell him when she was ready. Troy and Gabriella stayed on the couch until 6:00 when Mrs. Bolton called Gabriella's house asking that her son come home for at least a little while before the get-together. Troy groaned as he rolled off the couch.

"Why don't you come with me now? Do you have the popcorn or do you need to run to the store?"

"The popcorn should be in the pantry. Could you grab the box while I go upstairs to change?"  
"Why do you need to change? You look beautiful as you are right now."

"You're just saying that because you're my boyfriend!" Gabriella called from her room upstairs.

"So?" Troy replied as he dug around the pantry. He heard Gabriella groan loudly from her room as she changed her clothing.

"You, Mr. Bolton are so _clueless_ at times!" she exclaimed as she bound down the steps in jean, a solid red tank top, and was trying to tie her hair back in a matching red ribbon.

"But you still love me. Here, come here, let me do that for you." Gabriella stood in front of Troy as he tied the ribbon in her hair. She spun around, and gave Troy a hug.

"Thanks," she said before breaking away from Troy's grip. "Now come on, we have to get to your house before your Mom gets mad at us." Troy grabbed his backpack, the box of popcorn, and Gabriella's hand, and walked down to his house. They were too busy to notice that the white car had simply moved down to the other end of the block, and the driver was still watching them. Or rather, the driver was still watching Gabriella.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3:**

"Dude, I cannot believe you rented _Rent_, that'll just be giving in to our girlfriend's whiny orders," Chad said as everyone settled down in the basement of the Bolton home to watch _Rent_.

"Personally Chad, I think I can survive two and a half hours of _Rent_ in order to get Kelsi off my case," Jason replied.

"Come on, you all are judging the movie before you even see it!" Gabriella exclaimed. "We wouldn't have to go through watching it now if you all didn't have basketball practice that one Friday evening when we wanted to go see this."

"Yeah, I bet you all weren't used to paying for your own stuff at the theater, and actually paying attention to the movie!" Chad exclaimed, earning him a whack from every girl in the room. "Hey, hey, HEY! I thought that this was a movie party, not beat up Chad party!"

"Personally, I like the second one better," Gabriella said as she settled down on the couch, leaning up against Troy's chest. Troy aimed the remote control at the DVD player, and pressed _play_. The screen changed from the menu screen which was a collection of pictures and video clips to a black screen. When the credits began to roll, the introduction to the ever-famous song _Seasons of Love_ began to play.

"I know him," Gabriella said when the name Adam Pascal came up. Everyone looked at her like she was making it up.

"No way, why didn't you tell us this when we saw the movie?" Sharpay asked her. Gabriella shrugged.

"Didn't feel like it."

"You're lying."

"Sharpay," Zeke said. "This is Gabriella, is it possible for her to lie?"  
"I guess not, but that can't be true. Call him or something to prove it." Troy paused the movie, and Gabriella looked at the digital clock sitting on the DVD player.

"If it's 8:30 here, then it's about 10:30 in New York. Sorry, he has two sons, it would be too late, and I don't want his wife to get mad at me. I could…" She paused to pull her cell phone out of her pocket. "I could try to text him though, no promises that he'd get back to me tonight though." She began to type a message into her cell phone as Troy resumed the movie.

_ You there?_ Gabriella asked Adam. Luckily, Adam's cell phone was on, so he got back to her right away.

_Yeah, what's up Gabi?_

"Ha!" Gabriella exclaimed. "See? Look!" she held up her cell phone, while everyone looked at the reply.

"It could just be anyone, Gabi," Troy said. He knew that Gabriella wouldn't lie, but he was right, and someone was bound to point that fact out.

"Okay, here."

_My friends don't believe me that I know you, so could you just send me a message with your name in it so they believe me? I know it sounds weird and all, but could you?_

_Okay, to all of Gabi's friends, this **is**__Adam Pascal from "Rent". How's that?_ Gabriella showed everyone the message.

"See? I used to live down the street from him growing up in New York. I babysat for his kids, and he got me tickets to shows, and backstage passes. He also got me free copies of _Rent_ and _Chicago_, because Benny from _Rent_ is in _Chicago_."

"That is _so_ cool!" Kelsi exclaimed. Gabriella beamed as she continued to text Adam while everyone went back to the movie.

_Thanks. So, what's up with you?_

_Nothing much. Watching the boys and everything while Cybelle works. Are you still coming up to our house for two weeks this summer? Your Mom mentioned that you wanted to bring a friend, do you still want to?_

_Yeah, it's my boyfriend, I think my Mom talked to his parents, but I'm not sure. I haven't mentioned it to him, and I'm using him as a pillow right now._

_You mean Troy? _

_Yeah._

_Okay, I just wanted to know before I got you some things._

_Some things? What would those "some things" happen to be?_

_It's a surprise. Listen, I really have to go, Cybelle's mad at me for not getting the kids into bed. I'll call you sometime tomorrow. Love 'ya._

_Love 'ya too. Bye._

"What do you mean by 'love 'ya'?" Troy asked as he read Gabriella's last message to Adam.

"Oh, it's just something I do to him. He's like an Uncle to me, that's all don't worry." Gabriella placed a small kiss on his cheek. "You're not jealous are you?" Troy shook his head.

"Not really. I was a little confused, that's all." Gabriella leaned up against Troy as he wrapped his arms around her waist. Everyone watched the movie in silence, well all except for Chad who would add his opinion on the love status of some of the characters.

"That is _so_ wrong!" he exclaimed at the end of _I'll Cover You_.

"Shut-up. Nobody cares what you have to say," Taylor said to him. Chad shrugged and said that even though that was true, he thought that he should voice his opinion just in case someone did agree with him.

After the movie, Troy walked Gabriella home so she wouldn't have to walk home in the dark. They stopped outside of her doorway, and Troy pulled her onto the bench swing that hung from the top of the porch.

"Hey Gabi, could I ask you a question?" he asked her as he gently began to rock the swing back and forth with his foot.

"Depends," Gabriella mumbled as she buried her face in his neck. "Does it require a lot of thought, because I'm only in the mood for yes or no questions at the moment?"

"It depends. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go, and why?" Gabriella sat up and looked at her boyfriend, slightly confused.

"Where did this come from?"  
"I don't know. Would you just answer it?" Gabriella leaned back up against him.

"you remember that part in _Rent_ where the guys were all on the subway, and singing about how wonderful Santa Fe was, and how they would all go there one day to forget their worries?" Troy nodded. "Well, that's where I want to go, Santa Fe. How about you? Where would you go?"

"Anywhere that we're together, I'm fine with." Troy kissed the top of her head. "The guys and I were talking while you all were upstairs getting some more food after the movie, and we got this idea."

"This can't be good."

"Have faith in me woman! We really liked _Rent_, even though we won't admit it, and we thought that it would be cool to do that last song together in the talent show in two months."

"Are you serious? That would be so cool! Could we?"

"We're going to talk about it at lunch on Monday, but I think that we are. We just need to find the background music, and the lyrics."

"Oh, I can get that from Adam easily if I ask him really nicely. I was also thinking about something." Troy rolled his eyes.

"Here we go, one of your crazy ideas. Last time you had an idea we were singing in the spring musical!"

"It's not that bad! Well, every summer, I fly out to New York for two weeks, and stay at Adam's house. Well, this year he said I could bring a friend, and I think my Mom talked to your parents already, and I was wondering if you wanted to come with me to New York."

"I'd love to, but I'd have to check with my parents of course, but I think that they'd be cool with it. If your Mom trusts Adam and his wife, then I'm pretty sure that they will." Troy kissed the top of her head. "You'd better get inside. It's getting chilly out, and you don't have a jacket. Call me in the morning?" Gabriella got up off Troy's lap and nodded.

"First thing."

"Better make it around noon."

"Okay, I'll call you around noon." Troy kissed her on the lips.

"Love you," he whispered in her ear. His hot breath tickled her skin.

"Love you too," she replied just as quietly before she slipped into her dark house. Two houses away, she could see Taylor and Chad talking on her porch.

When Gabriella got inside, her house was deathly quiet. She dumped her keys and her purse on the table next to the front door while taking off her sandals. She thought she heard a noise in the other room, but figured that it was the wind. However, when she flipped on the kitchen lights, she saw a familiar figure sitting at the table.

**A/N:** Yeah, in case you haven't figured it out, I'm a Rent-Head. Adam Pascal plays Roger in _Rent_, and is REALLY hot with long hair. If you want to know who I'm talking about, go google his name, trust me, he's hot (but sadly married). I know the whole Adam thing was really random, but I was really bored! Until next time! Much love!


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Phsycotic Vodka pointed out in their review that Adam Pascal was also in _Aida_ on Broadway, and after doing a little digging (yeah, like 2 seconds worth while trying to find a good picture of him), I found that he also played Theo in _School of Rock_. I have not seen the movie, so I can't tell you who Theo is. If you wish to see what Adam looks like, the second linky on my profile links to a picture of him doing to tango down a table during one of the COOLEST _Rent _songs called _La Vie Bohemé_, so check it out if you don't know what he looks like. Oh, if anyone knows where I can find a picture of his wife (so I know who I'm talking about when writing _Off-Camera_), PLEASE let me know! Thanks! 

**Chapter 4:**

Gabriella froze in fear. No, he couldn't be here. Both her and her Mom had restraining orders against him. He couldn't be here.

"Hello, Gabriella," Ian said as he stood up from his seat at the kitchen table. Gabriella backed away slowly. "Is that any way to greet me?"

"What are you doing here? How did you get in here?"

"Ahh, how I got in here. You see, I was cleaning up my apartment, and guess what I found? The key to your house that you're Mother gave me. So, I decided to stop by for a little visit. You know, to finish some business." Ian was now standing a foot away from Gabriella, who was cornered up against a wall.

"Some unfinished business? Like what?"

"Like this!" Ian brought back his hand, and slapped Gabriella hard. Before she could react, he had kneed her in the stomach, and she doubled over onto the floor. "Don't even think about calling for your little boyfriend, he really doesn't care about you! He just feels bad for you, that's it. Poor little Gabriella, who lost her Father when she was little, moved here to escape the past, and almost had a step-father who tried to teach her what real life is like." Ian grabbed Gabriella by the shoulders, and shoved her against the wall with such force that her head went flying backwards. "Well here's a new lesson for you: you're a waste of everyone's time. Nobody cares about you! Not even your Mother! Without you she would be able to do as she pleases and not what you want all the time."

"How would you know that?" she demanded.

"Everyone knows that Gabriella! You're too slow to realize it! Nobody loves you Gabriella Montez, it would be better if you just disappeared."

Ian continued to beat Gabriella until she was sore all over the place. When he stopped for just a second, Gabriella managed to break free of his grip, and ran out the front door. She bolted across her lawn, and down the street. When she got to the corner, she ran head-on into Chad. Chad whirled around, startled about what had just happened. Instead of coming face-to-face with a person, someone collapsed into his arms. He helped the figure to her feet, and realized that it was Gabriella.

"Gabi! What happened to you?" Gabriella buried her face in Chad's chest, sobbing uncontrollably.

"It's, it's, it's Ian!" she sobbed. "He got into my house, and I'm scared. Please help me Chad!" Chad calmed his friend down as he helped her over to Troy's house.

_Ding, dong!_ Anne Bolton sighed, who would possibly stop by at 11:00 at night? When she opened the door, she found Gabriella, badly beaten, leaning on Chad.

"Oh my Gabriella! What happened to you? Are you alright?" she exclaimed as she stepped out of the way so Chad could help Gabriella inside.

"Ian attacked Gabi when she got home. She ran into me while running away from him, and I thought that she should come here."

"Thank you, Chad. You should probably get home before your parents start to worry. I'll see you tomorrow." Chad waved as he bound down the steps to the front porch.

"Hey Mom, who's at the door?" Troy froze for a second when he saw Gabriella. In a flash, he was by her side with his arms around her. "What happened to you?" Gabriella was still in a state of shock, so Anne replied for her.

"Ian," she said simply. There was a flicker of anger in Troy's eyes. "Now don't start getting mad. I'm going to go call the police and Rosa, I want you to take Gabi upstairs, and give her some clothes to change into. She's going to stay here for tonight."  
"Thank you," Gabriella said quietly.

"Don't worry about it. I'm going to call your Mom. Do you want her to come home?" Gabriella shook her head.

"Not unless she really wants to. Could I possibly stay here until she gets back?"  
"Of course, sweetie. Now you go upstairs and get changed. Don't worry, we'll keep an eye on you." Gabriella smiled weakly as Troy led her upstairs.

Gabriella sat down on Troy's bed as he dug around for shorts and a t-shirt. He found some old basketball shorts, and a red shirt.

"Here you go," he said as he handed them to Gabriella. She took them, and went into the bathroom to change. When she came out, Troy wrapped his arms around her. "How are you doing?" Gabriella immediately began to sob, but wouldn't tell Troy why. They stood there in the center of his room, Troy gently stroking her hair as she sobbed. A soft knock on the door about fifteen minutes later started to calm Gabriella down.

"Gabriella?" Jack said as he slowly opened the door. "Anne just got off the phone with your Mother. She's getting on the next flight home, and should be here around noon tomorrow. Officer Smith is going to stop by around the same time to talk to you. Do you want to stay in here tonight?" Gabriella was surprised at how willing Troy's Dad was to let her stay in Troy's room for the night.

"If you don't mind," she said weakly.

"I think it'll be fine for just one night. Goodnight you guys." Gabriella and Troy said goodnight as Jack closed the bedroom door.

Troy pulled out a white undershirt, and went into the bathroom to change. When he came back out, Gabriella had curled up on his bed, and fallen asleep. He silently turned off the light, and laid down next to her. he propped himself up on one elbow, and brushed Gabriella's hair out of her eyes as he watched her sleep. How could this have happened a second time to someone so sweet? If he ever got a hold of Ian…no, he couldn't think anything like that, he needed to be strong for his girlfriend. He sighed, and laid down next to her. Gabriella snuggled closer to Troy, and rested her head on his chest. He wrapped his arms protectively around her, and he too was soon asleep.

When Troy woke up around 9:00 the next morning, he found that Gabriella was gone. His clothes were carefully folded at the end of his bed, and her clothes from the previous night were gone. Troy pulled on a pair of jeans, and went downstairs to see what Gabriella and his Mom were up to. When he got downstairs, however, just his Mom was sitting at the kitchen table.

"Gabi still asleep?" she asked him.

"No, I thought she was down here. Here clothes are gone, and mine are folded up neatly at the end of my bed. you didn't see her at all this morning?" Anne stopped the think, and shook her head.

"Sorry, no. I just assumed that she was still asleep. You're sure that she's not in the bathroom or something?"  
"Positive. Could she have gone back home to get something?"

"I don't know. Run down there quickly, Troy. I'm starting to get a little worried." Troy ran down to Gabriella's house, and found it completely empty. Twenty minutes later, he returned to his house with a note in his hand. "What's that?"

"A note from Gabi. She said that she was sorry for all the trouble she put us all through, and she said that she'd see me in Bohemia."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5:**

"I'm calling the police. I can't believe she ran away. Do you know what 'see you in Bohemia' means?" Anne asked Troy as she got up to get the phone.

"I can only think of one thing. She has a very close family friend in New York who was in _Rent_ which is about a bunch of Bohemians. That might be where she's going."

"New York? That can't be right. Oh yes, is Officer Smith there. Yes, it's an emergency thank you. I want you to call this friend of hers to see if they know where Gabriella is. Yes, Officer Smith, this is Anne Bolton; I'm a friend of Gabriella Montez's. Gabriella's gone. She spent the night at our house last night, because we didn't want her to go home, and now she's gone. She did leave a note at her house that said that she was sorry for all the trouble she put us all through, and that she'd see my son in Bohemia. My son said that she has a very close family friend who was in _Rent_ which is about Bohemians, so she might be going there. One second, Troy, what's this friend's name?"  
"Umm, Adam Pascal, here's an actor."

"Adam Pascal. Okay, half an hour? No, we haven't called her Mother, right now she's on a flight here, but I'll leave a message on her cell phone. Thank you, bye." Anne hung up the phone, and picked it up again to call Rosa.

The rest of the day passed as a blur to Troy. While his Mom was talking to Rosa on the phone, he went back down to Gabriella's house to see if she left him another note or something. While he was there, he found that her emergency stash of money was gone. She had about $400 saved up over the years in an envelope she kept under her clothes in her dresser, and all of it was gone. Her backpack was gone, along with some of her clothes, her brush, her purse, and her cell phone. She couldn't survive long wherever she was, Troy knew that. By the end of the day, Troy had talked to each member of the gang, Rosa, Officer Smith, his Father, his Mother, and Adam Pascal, and each one of them had asked him if he knew where Bohemia was. Adam decided that he would try and figure it out too, and if Gabriella showed up at his house in a few hours, he'd call Rosa and Troy to let them both know that she's safe.

Troy was lying on his back on his bed, waiting for sleep to come, but it wouldn't. He couldn't help but be worried about Gabriella. Was she safe? Did she get to her destination alright? She was in such an emotional state that he couldn't even begin to imagine what was going on in her mind right now. Around 3 AM, Troy finally dozed off.

"_Hey Gabi, could I ask you a question?" he asked her as he gently began to rock the swing back and forth with his foot._

_"Depends," Gabriella mumbled as she buried her face in his neck. "Does it require a lot of thought, because I'm only in the mood for yes or no questions at the moment?"_

_"It depends. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go, and why?" Gabriella sat up and looked at her boyfriend, slightly confused._

_"Where did this come from?"  
"I don't know. Would you just answer it?" Gabriella leaned back up against him._

_"You remember that part in Rent where the guys were all on the subway, and singing about how wonderful Santa Fe was, and how they would all go there one day to forget their worries?" Troy nodded. "Well, that's where I want to go, Santa Fe. How about you? Where would you go?"_

Troy bolted upright in bed. Bohemia wasn't a place! It was a point in the right direction! She was calling Albuquerque Bohemia! In _Santa Fe_, they refer to New York City as a Bohemian-hell, and say that they'd go to Santa Fe to escape it. Gabriella was in Santa Fe. Troy jumped out of bed, threw a handful of clothes in his backpack, grabbed his cell phone, and the $100 that he had. He'd need more money. Silently, he crept downstairs, and found his Father's wallet. Sure, he'd probably get in trouble for this, but he needed to get to Gabriella. He took $250 from his Father's wallet, and wrote his parents a note.

_Figured out where Gabi is. I owe you $250, but I swear I'll pay you back as soon as I get back. I promise I'll call you in a few hours when I get there. Please don't be mad! I have my cell phone! Love, Troy._

Troy grabbed his cell phone charger, and snuck out of the house. He started his dark blue Camry, and began his 54 mile quest to Santa Fe in search of his girlfriend.

**A/N:** Short chapter I know, sorry! I'll make sure to update soon, promise.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6:**

The first thing Troy did when he got to Santa Fe was go to the bus depot, and ask if anyone there had seen Gabriella. Luckily, someone had, and had heard her say that she'd be staying at the motel down the street. Troy thanked the man that had helped him, and drove down the street to the motel. He parked his car in the parking lot, and went inside to the front desk.

"May I help you?" the young blonde woman on the other side of the counter asked.

"Yes, I was told that my girlfriend was staying here, and was wondering if you could tell me what room she's in."

"I'm sorry sir, but it's against our policy to give out information like that." Troy sighed. He knew that it couldn't be that easy.

"Okay." He paused to read the gold nameplate on the woman's chest. "Brenda, let me tell you something. My girlfriend has runaway from home, and is in such an emotional state of distress that I'm afraid that she might do something irrational. I _need_ to get to her hotel room, and bring her back home. It's crucial that you tell me her room number." Brenda sighed.

"One minute please." She disappeared through a doorway behind the counter, and returned a minute or so later followed by a woman in her 40s with light brown hair in a bun, and a pair of glasses perched on her nose.

"You need to get your girlfriend's room number?" the woman with the brown hair asked. Her nameplate said "Cynthia" with "Desk Manager" written under it.

"Please, it's important. She's such an emotional wreck, I don't know what she might do if I don't find her."

"Okay, here's what I'll do. Most guys carry a picture of them and their girlfriend with them. You show me a picture of the two of you, and tell me her name, and if I recognize her, I'll take you to her room, and stay with you there." Troy nodded. He pulled out his wallet, and showed Cynthia a picture of him and Gabriella after they had won the Championships.

"Her name is Gabriella Montez." Cynthia studied the picture closely, and nodded.

"Yes, I remember her. She seemed quite jumpy. Always looking over her shoulder. She checked in around 6:30 this morning. I'll take you to her room, but I won't leave you alone there. I saw her go out this morning." Troy let out a breath of relief.

Troy followed Cynthia down the hallway to a door at the far end of the motel. She slid her key into the slot, and opened the door. Lying on the bed of Gabriella's room was her backpack. Troy looked around in hopes of finding a hint as to where Gabriella had gone. Sitting on the nightstand was a brochure for White Rock Overlook.

"How far away is this place?" Troy asked Cynthia, holding up the advertisement. Cynthia looked at it.

"About five minutes. We have maps at the front desk. Is that all?" Troy nodded. He knew where Gabi was.

Meanwhile, Gabriella stood on one of the rock formations at White Rock Overlook feeling very small and unimportant. Ian was right. She had had her cell phone on for part of the morning, and no one had called her. No one cared about her. What was she doing here? Why did she come to Santa Fe? Santa Fe was so close to home, she should have gone somewhere else, but where? Maybe it would be easier on everyone else if she just dropped off the face of the Earth, never to be found again.

Troy jumped into his car with the brochure for White Rock Overlook and a map in hand. He had to get there quickly and find Gabriella. While on his way to the park, his cell phone began to ring.

"Yeah?" he said as he kept one hand on the steering wheel, and looked at the map that the motel had provided him with.

"I just got off the phone with Rosa, and she said that you left too," Adam said on the other end. "So, she gave me your number, and I said that I'd call you. Where are you?

"Do you realize how secluded parts of Santa Fe can be? I guess you know that because you filmed here."

"You're in Santa Fe? How did you figure that one out?" Troy explained to Adam the conversation he and Gabriella had had the night before. "Smart boy. Should I call Rosa to tell her that you're safe?"  
"If you don't mind."

"Where in Santa Fe are you exactly?"  
"White Rock Overlook. I'm driving around, trying to find Gabi. I'm really worried about what she'll do to herself."

Gabriella stood alone with a single object in her hand. She was going to put the world out of it's misery, and do what she should have done a long time ago. She didn't deserve Troy, or her friends, or her Mother. Things were better off this way.

Troy was talking to Adam on the phone when a lone figure caught his eyes. She appeared to be…

"Adam, can I call you back? I think I just found Gabi," he said.

"You found her? I have to call Rosa to tell her. She's worried sick about her. She can't figure out why she just ran away."

"Don't call her yet, I'm not 100 sure that it's her. Oh God, I really have to go." Gabriella was on the verge of taking her own life. "I'll call you back, by." Without waiting for an answer, Troy hung up his phone, parked the car on the side of the road, and ran up to Gabriella. "Gabi! Wait, please, stop!" He cried out.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7:**

Gabriella was about to do it, about to slash her wrists and end her misery. She couldn't take it anymore. No one had tried to call her, so either no one knew she was gone, or no one cared. She figured that no one really cared. She was just a burden on them all, that's it. Nothing more, nothing less. She had the blade against her skin when she heard a car pull up behind her.

Ignoring it, she continued her task until she heard a familiar voice call out, "Gabi! Wait, please, stop!" So close, God, if only Troy would go away. She didn't deserve him, he was too good for her. Gabriella was about to drag the blade across her flesh when she felt a pair of strong arms around her. "Don't do this Gabi, please don't do this," Troy whispered in her ear as he pried the blade out of her hands. "Please don't." Gabriella realized that he was actually crying. She spun around, threw her arms around his neck, and began to sob.

"Oh, Troy. I'm sorry I left. I'm sorry," she said between sobs. Troy gently stroked her hair. "I'm sorry I ran away. I thought that I was a burden on everyone else."

"A burden? Who told you that?"  
"Ian said that I didn't deserve you, and I actually believed him." She laughed bitterly. "I can't believe I believed him now. I'm sorry I put you through so much." Troy kissed the top of her head.

"You're not a burden Gabriella. I'm just glad you're safe." Troy buried his face in Gabriella's hair. "I love you Gabi, and so does everyone else back home. They're so worried about you."

"I shouldn't have left, I know that, but I was so upset about this whole thing, I couldn't take it anymore. How did you figure out where I was? I thought that you would have thought that I was at Adam's."

"Oh, speaking of Adam, I was just on the phone with him, and should call him back to let him know that you're safe. Do you want to go home, or stay the night?"  
"Let's stay the night. It'll give me a chance to get my thoughts together. Plus, I'm really tired." Gabriella slipped her hand into Troy's ask they walked to the car.

As soon as Gabriella and Troy got back to the motel, Gabriella laid down on the bed, and fell into a deep sleep. Troy pulled out his cell phone, and began to call everyone to let them know that Gabriella was safe. Taylor, Sharpay, Kelsi, and Mrs. Montez all began to cry when they found out. Mr. Bolton yelled at Troy at first, but then when he found out why he had left, he stopped. Troy called Adam last.

"Hello?" a female voice said when Troy called him.

"Umm, yes, it Adam Pascal there?" Troy asked.

"May I ask whose calling?"  
"This is Troy Bolton, Gabriella Montez's boyfriend." Troy heard the woman let out a sigh of relief.

"Adam told me that you might have found her. This is his wife Cybelle. Is she alright? Adam said that you started to panic, and hung up the phone on him."

"Oh, sorry. Yes, Gabriella's perfectly fine. We're staying in Santa Fe for the night, and driving home first thing in the morning. She's asleep right now. I don't think she's had a decent night's sleep in a few days now."

"I can imagine. Well, here's Adam right now." Troy heard Cybelle cover the telephone with her hand, and say, "Adam, its Troy. He found Gabi." Adam immediately grabbed the phone out of his wife's hand.

"You found her? That's great! We were all worried about her? So that was her you saw?"

"Yes. We're going to stay the night in this motel, and back home tomorrow. Gabi said that she wanted a chance to get her thoughts together and get some sleep."

"Okay, tell her to call me or text me no matter what time she gets up. I was talking to her Mother, and we have an idea for something that would cheer her up a little, and Rosa talked to your parents, and you can come too."

"Would you mind sharing that little secret with me then? To make sure I'll like it?" Adam chuckled.

"Nice try mister, but I have a feeling that you'll like it, so you won't be finding out until you get home tomorrow."

"Damn. Well, I should go, I'm pretty tired too."

"Okay, remember to have Gabi call me when she gets up. Goodbye Troy."

"Bye Adam." Troy hung up his phone, and plugged it in next to Gabriella's phone to charge. Then, he laid down on the couch, and fell asleep.

Troy was awoken several hours later by someone straddling him. He slowly opened his eyes, and saw Gabriella straddling his chest. She bent down, and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"You know you didn't have to sleep on the couch," she told him. Troy brushed some hair out of her eyes, and looked her over. Her face was bruised and cut up, but Gabriella didn't seem to mind. When she got to school, however, that's where the problems might begin.

"I know, but I didn't know how you would feel about sharing the same bed. Plus, I was on the phone for a while after you fell asleep, and didn't want to wake you." The smile quickly disappeared from Gabriella's face.

"So they know that I'm safe? I mean, everyone knows that I'm safe now?" Troy nodded.

"Everyone. Oh, and Adam says to call you. He told me that he and your Mom have some big old surprise for you and me when we get home tomorrow, but he still wants to talk to you." Gabriella looked at the clock on the microwave.

"It's eight o'clock there; I guess it's not too late to call him."

"He said no matter how late it is, so you can't make up any excuses. Go, call him!" Gabriella got up, and picked up her cell phone. She didn't feel like talking to anyone, she so began to text Adam.

_Hey. How are you?  
Gabi! Thank God you're alright! Are you safe? Your Mom told me what happened. I can't believe that creep. Don't worry; he'll be gone for a long time._

_Thanks. I'm a little worried about school. I don't really want to go back, but I know I have to._

_Why don't you want to go back?  
people will be staring at me, and I don't like that. I don't like the fact that people will be talking about me, and making up outrageous stories about what happened to me, and why I'm so beat up._

_Is it that bad?_

_I guess so._

_Listen to me, Gabi. Don't think about what other people say about you. If you want to be a performer, you have to get used to weird looks while doing roles._

_I know, but still. I don't want to go back. I don't want to confront them, and my Mom. I'm afraid we might have to go to court about Ian, and I'm not ready for that. _Troy took a seat next to Gabi on the bed, and she rested her head on his shoulder.

_Don't worry about it. You have a support team behind you. Sorry Gabi, but I have to go. gotta get the boys ready for bed._

_Tell them I said hi. I'm still coming up this summer?_

_Of course. No go, relax a little. Call me when you get home. Bye sweetie._

_Bye._

Gabriella closed her eyes, and Troy wrapped his arms around her. There they sat in silence for several minutes. Troy was the first to speak.

"When do you want to leave tomorrow?" he asked her.

"As late as humanly possible. I don't want to face everyone back home." Troy kissed the top of her head.

"Don't worry about them. Everyone's just happy that you're safe." Gabriella looked a little skeptical. She was so terrified that her Mother would be furious at her for leaving. "Don't worry. Nobody's mad at you. I love you, Gabi." Gabriella snuggled as close as possible to her boyfriend. His strong arms around her were so soothing.

"I love you too, Troy."

**A/N:** Please check out _Off-Camera_ (you can find the link on my profile). It's a behind-the-scenes on _Rent_ type deal. I told my two friends that I won't post again (there's a _major_ cliffhanger) until I get two reviews that aren't from them, so now they're kinda sorta pissed (can't imagine why though). So, for their dwindling sanity, please check it out! It's not a requirement if you've seen _Rent_, but it'll help a little more. Lots 'o love!

Tina101


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8:**

Gabriella was practically smothered by her Mother the second she got out of Troy's car. Rosa wasn't mad, she was just glad that her daughter was back.

"Let me look at what that man did to you," she said, looking Gabriella over. She was pretty beat up, but otherwise seemed to be better. "I'm so glad you're safe! Adam told me that you talked to him last night, and were worried about school! Don't worry about that at all, we'll talk to Principal Matsui, he'll make sure that everything's alright." Troy was next to fall victim to Rosa's hugs. "Thank you for figuring out where Gabi went!" she cried.

"Mamí, Mamí, you're hurting him!" Gabriella exclaimed.

"Sorry Troy."

"It's okay Ms. Montez," Troy replied. "I'll leave you two alone now. Gabi, I'll see you for school on Wednesday?"

"I'll be going back tomorrow. I don't want to be sitting around the house all day."

"You sure?" Rosa asked her daughter. Gabriella nodded.

"I don't want to be at home all day," she replied sternly. Troy gave Gabriella a quick kiss, and left her with her Mother to fight the battle out.

Troy stopped by Gabriella's house the next day to walk her to school. The second she walked into the building, people began to stare at her. how did Gabriella Montez, girlfriend of the star basketball player get so beat up? Nobody dared ask her to her face, but they asked all her friends who said that it wasn't any of their business. At lunch, though, Gabriella lost it. She could feel people's gaze bore into her back as she ate. Not being able to take it any longer, she stormed out of the cafeteria.

"Gabi!" Troy called after her, standing up.

"Go after her," Sharpay said, looking worried just like everyone else. "We'll take care of throwing your lunch away."

"Thanks you guys," Troy said before running off after his girlfriend.

Troy followed Gabriella as she ran up to the rooftop garden. This is where it all had begun. This was the first place she had seen Ian only a few days earlier. Gabriella was lying down on the green metal bench with her eyes closed. They immediately flew open when she heard Troy come up the stairs.

"Hey," he said quietly. "Are you okay?" Gabriella sat up, and nodded. Troy sat down next to her, and she rested her head on his shoulder.

"I'm fine. I couldn't stand people staring at me. They're talking about me behind my back, I know they are Troy, don't lie to me." Troy sighed. Gabriella was a sharp girl. "They want to know how star basketball star, Troy Bolton's girlfriend got so beat up, and nobody's telling them…right?"

"Of course baby. We're telling them to get a life. Some are concerned, and them we tell that it's a personal thing, but those who want something to gossip about, we tell them to get lost." Gabriella snuggled closer to Troy. She was so happy that she had such wonderful friends.

"Troy? Gabi?" Taylor called as she went to go check on them. They had been gone the majority of the lunch, and the gang was getting a little worried.

"Yeah, we're here Tay," Gabriella replied. Taylor mounted the last few steps, and saw the couple sitting on the green metal bench on the far side of the roof.

"Hey, you doin' alright, or do we have to sic Sharpay on some people?" she asked. Gabriella laughed.

"I'm good. What's up?"

"We were talking downstairs, and did Troy tell you how we want to do the finale from _Rent_ in the talent show?" Gabriella nodded. "Well, we want you and Troy to take the main solos for the song." Gabriella stood up, and threw her arms around Taylor.

"You serious? That's so sweet of you all!" Taylor returned the warm hug. Gabriella was getting better again.

"We figured that you both deserved it. We're going to practice for at least half an hour during every movie night until the performance. Got it?"

"Yes ma'am!" Troy announced standing up.

"Gabi, I love you to death, but your boyfriend can be such a freak sometimes," Taylor said with a sigh. Gabriella giggled.

"But I love him. And looks whose talking! You have Chad!"

"Excellent point."

**A/N:** Short chapter, I know, and I'm sorry. People are asking me when this is going to end, because there's not much more left to do…WRONG! More twists in the next chapter (and an appearance by the SUPER SEXY….ADAM PASCAL!). Oh, and some drama I guess. It'll be a longer chapter too.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9:**

Every Friday, the gang would practice for at least half an hour for their show. Gabriella emailed Adam who sent her a track of the song that only had the background music. Each performer then got a copy of the CD so they could practice at home. At last, April 14, 2006 rolled around. This was the big day, the day of the performance. Gabriella had called Adam to see if he would be able to come down to see them, but he told her that he couldn't. The ten friends stood in one long line across the stage.

"There is no future, there is no past," Ryan sang out.

"Thank God this moment's not the last!" Troy added looking at Gabriella.

"There's only us, there's only this, forget regret, or life is yours to miss," Troy and Gabriella sang together in their famous harmony.

"No other road, no other way, no day but today!" everyone sang together. The men broke out into one part, while the girls sang another.

"Will I lose my dignity? Will someone care? Will I wake tomorrow, from this nightmare? There's only now, there's only here. Give in to love, or live in fear. No other path, no other way. No day but today!" the guys sang.

Meanwhile, the girls sang, "I can't control my destiny. I trust my soul; my only goal is just to be. Without you, the hand gropes, the ear hears, the pulse beats. Life goes on, but I'm gone. 'Cause I die, without you. I die without you." The two groups repeated those last lines (No day but today and I die without you) six times.

They ended in a powerful unison by singing, "NO DAY BUT TODAY!" together. The audience burst into applause, and stood up. Ryan, Troy, and Gabriella took separate bows, because they had had solos. The friends filed off stage smiling. They had left their legacy.

When the entire show was done, everyone went to go find their parents. Troy and Gabriella walked around the auditorium hand in hand, figuring that their parents would be together. Sure enough, Jack and Anne were talking to Rosa in the back of the room.

"Who's that talking to your Mom and my parents?" Troy asked Gabriella. Gabriella looked at the figure. It only took her a split second to figure out who it was. She ran up to the man, and threw her arms around him. Adam Pascal (**A/N: **Insert cheers by HUGE crowd of girls here) spun Gabriella around.

"You came, you came!" she cried out. Adam laughed.

"Of course I came. I missed the New Mexico, and decided to squeeze you in between all my sight-seeing.," he replied. Gabriella slapped his shoulder playfully.

"You know you came because you love me so much," she retorted. Adam shrugged.

"That's _your_ version of the story."

"Gabi! Gabi!" Lennon, Adam's oldest son cried out as he ran towards Gabriella. Gabriella scooped him up in her arms, and gave him a huge hug. "You sang one of my Daddy's songs on stage!" Lennon exclaimed. Gabriella laughed.

"Did I do a good job?"

Lennon got a serious look on his face, and whispered in Gabriella's ear, "Don't tell Daddy, but you did a better job than him." Gabriella burst out laughing.

"Give me a kiss," she demanded from Lennon. Lennon shook his head. "Come on, please?" Lennon shook his head again.

"I'll take you up on that," Troy said from behind her, as he gave her a quick kiss on the lips. Gabriella covered Lennon's eyes with her free hand, and kissed Troy back.

"Hey! Hey! Not in front of the kid!" Adam announced. Gabriella and Troy immediately broke apart. Gabriella blushed, and buried her face in Troy's chest. Lennon broke free of her grip, and went over to Rosa. "So I take it that this is the famous Troy I've heard so much about?"

"Oh, yeah, I guess so. Troy, this Adam; Adam this is my boyfriend, Troy." The two men shook hands.

"Nice to finally meet you. I've heard so much about you, and after you got Gabi back, it's nice to put a face to your name."

"It's nice to meet you too."

Sharpay called, "Gabi! Troy! Are you coming to the party at our house?" Gabriella and Troy looked at each other.

"I think we're going to pass, Shar," Gabriella said. "But we'll be at Taylor's tomorrow at 7. No more rehearsing!"

"Finally! Ok, I'll see you both tomorrow." Sharpay waved over her shoulder as she went to go join the rest of the gang. Taylor pulled her off to the side, and whispered something in her ear. Sharpay spun around wide-eyed. She was about to say something, but Zeke pulled her away.

"Mija, let's get going. I think Sharpay just recognized Adam, and I'm sure the last thing he wants is screaming teenage girls all around him," Rosa said. Adam laughed.

"It would be nice to have a break," he said. Gabriella and Troy entwined fingers, and they walked out to Troy's car.

The Boltons, Gabriella, Rosa, Lennon, and Adam all went to the Montez's house for a small barbeque. The men were talking about sports or something while the women were making sure all the food was out. The phone rang, so Gabriella went to answer it.

"Hello?" she said.

"Gabi? It's Cybelle. I was wondering if Adam was there. I tried to call him on his cell phone, but it's off," Cybelle Pascal, Adam's wife (**A/N:** Yes, Adam Pascal is sadly married insert sobs from a HUGE mass of teenage girls here) said. Gabriella walked out onto the deck with the cordless phone in hand.

"He's right here." She handed Adam the phone and said, "You're in trouble mister. Your cell phone's not on." Adam pulled his cell phone off the clip on his belt loop.

"Yes it, oh, never mind." He took the phone, and began to talk to his wife. Gabriella sat down promptly on Troy's lap. She rested her head on his shoulder, and closed her eyes.

"What's wrong?" Troy whispered in her ear.

"Nothing, I'm just really tired. I also have one of those feelings. You know, where you know that something's wrong, but you can't figure out what it is." Troy kissed the top of her head.

"Yeah, I know what you're talking about. It's probably just you worrying about a test or something coming up." As soon as Adam hung up the phone, it began to ring again. By the time Gabriella got a hold of the phone, it had stopped ringing, so she had figured that her Mother had answered it. Sure enough, Rosa came outside about five minutes later looking very pale and shook up. Gabriella immediately stood up.

"Mamí, what's wrong?" she asked.

"That was the police. Ian somehow escaped from jail."

**A/N:** Sorry about the semi-long hiatus of about 2 weeks or so. I had exams and junk, but now I'm out of school. Anyway, I said before that the gang was in the junior year, but I've changed it to senior year. Also, its weird writing about Adam Pascal and seeing him on _Rent_ at the same time (just thought you might like to know that). You know the drill, reviews are very much loved! Oh, and I found out that there will be a sequel to the _High School Musical_ movie, so all those High School Musical 2 stories could be fairly accurate! Much love!

Tina101


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10:**

"Escaped?" repeated Gabriella. "What do you mean 'escaped'? this has to be some sort of joke. It's a joke, right Mamí." Gabriella began to cry. Troy got up, and wrapped his arms around his upset girlfriend.

"That was Officer Smith. She said that it isn't that safe for you to be here, Ian knows where you live, and could come back at any moment. You have two options, and I'm going to let you decide. You can either, one, stay here, and an officer will go to school with you, and such, or two, leave until Ian's captured."

"Leave? Where would I go?"

"You can come stay with me," Adam said firmly. "Cybelle won't mind. That is, if that's what you want to do." Gabriella looked reluctant to take either option.

"I don't know. Just to pack up and leave, leaving all my friends behind. And what about you Mamí; what if Ian comes after you?"

"You won't go alone Gabi, I'll come with you," Troy said.

"Troy," Jack said warningly.

"No Dad, I'm not letting Gabi do this alone. I'll keep up with my school work, I promise. Please, if Gabi goes, I go." Troy turned to Adam. "If that's okay with you."

"It's fine with me if you both come to my house, it's your parent's decision now," the actor replied.

Anne suggested, "Why don't you both go inside, and let us talk? We'll let you know when we make our decision." Gabriella took Lennon, and the three went inside while the parents talked.

Forty-five minutes later, Troy found himself throwing clothes and such in a suitcase. He and Gabriella were basically fleeing to Adam's house in New York until Ian was caught. They were flying out with Lennon and Adam, and staying for God only knows how long. Troy and Gabriella decided not to tell their friends so they wouldn't worry, but they knew that they'd start to worry when they stopped coming to school. Jack was going to talk to all their teachers, and they would either do their schoolwork via email, or fax some of their stuff to the teachers. It was going to be difficult not being in school, but Troy and Gabriella were some of the top students in their class. Troy finished packing, said goodbye to his parents (Anne was crying softly), and climbed into Adam's car. Gabriella was sitting in the front seat. She stared out the window the whole time, in a complete daze. Lennon was fast asleep in his car seat next to Troy. Nobody said anything the entire time. Adam had called the airport, and gotten Troy and Gabriella tickets for the same flight he and Lennon were on; it left around 1 AM. He got such a late flight so everyone on the flight would be so out of it that no one would recognize him. He returned the car, and the three walked to the airport; Adam was carrying Lennon. The rest passed as a blur. The next thing Troy actually remembered was Gabriella curling up next to him the on the plane, and the both of them falling asleep.

"Troy, Gabriella, wake up. We're in New York," Adam said softly as he shook the couple awake. Troy tried to sit up, but he was pinned between the window and Gabriella.

"Gabi, come on, get up," he mumbled. Gabriella sat up, still half asleep. She grabbed her backpack from at her feet, and stood up. Troy put one hand on her back, and guided her down the aisle, and off the plane. Adam had the still asleep Lennon draped over his shoulder, and his carryon bag on the other shoulder. They walked down to the baggage claim, grabbed their bags, and climbed into Adam's jeep in the parking lot.

Cybelle and Monty were asleep when everyone got to the Pascal's house. Adam dumped his bags in the family room, and led Troy and Gabriella to their rooms.

"Here's your room Troy," he said, stopping outside one of the guestrooms. "Gabi, yours is right here. This door in the middle leads to the bathroom you both will have to share. You both should get some sleep, and call your parents to tell them we got here safely in the morning. Night you two." Gabriella gave Adam a hug.

"Thanks for letting us stay here for a little while."

"No problem. Now, get some sleep."

Gabriella had just climbed into bed when the bathroom door opened. She saw the outline of Troy walk across the room, and sit next to her on the bed.

"Night honey," he said quietly before kissing her quickly on the lips. "I love you." Gabriella smiled. She liked having Troy with her to say goodnight. He would call every night back home to say goodnight, but this was _much_ better.

"Night, I love you too." Gabriella pecked Troy on the lips before snuggling down under the covers. Troy watched her for a few minutes before returning to his own room. He was glad he had come with her; he knew that she was going to need someone to talk to whether or not she would admit it.

**A/N:** Do you know how completely sorry I am for not updating for two weeks. The good news is, I updated, the bad news, I leave tomorrow for a week and a half in Boston and Scranton PA (must be my lucky day sarcastically), and this story is being written on my computer not in a journal, so I won't be able to work on it. If you're reading _Off-Set_, I'll be working on that religiously the entire time, and I got a great idea for a MoJo fic (for all the psycho Rent-heads like me!). Peace!

Tina101


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11:**

Gabriella awoke the next morning when two and a half year old Monty began jumping on her bed.

"Hi Gabi!" he exclaimed. "Daddy say that you visiting! Hi Gabi!" Gabriella smiled weakly as she sat up and tried to give the hyper-active toddler a hug.

"Calm down. What are you doing up so early?" she asked groggily. Monty giggled.

"It's not early! It's twelve o'clock silly! Mommy said to wake you and your friend up and tell you time for lunch cause you slept through breakfast. Where's your friend?" Gabriella sighed, what had Monty eaten for breakfast that made him so hyper?

"Troy's asleep in the other guest room."

"A boy? You're friend's a boy?" Monty began to giggle and he lowered his voice. "Is he your boyfriend?" He made a face when he said "boyfriend".

"Yes, is that a problem? Do you have to approve all of my boyfriends mister?" Monty's eyes got wide.

"You have lots of boyfriends? How many young lady?" he demanded, crossing his arms across his chest. Gabriella couldn't take it anymore, Monty looked adorable. Gabriella began to laugh. "It's not funny!" He was on the verge of tears, so she stopped, and gave him a hug.

"I'm sorry honey. You just looked absolutely adorable. Why don't you go tell your Mommy that Troy and I will be down in about twenty minutes for lunch? I have to get Troy up which can be pretty hard sometimes."

"Just put Carly in his room. That's what Mommy did when Daddy had to get up to go to work with Ms. Idina. She put Carly on the bed, and she woke him up. Hurry up though, I'm hungry!" Carly was the Pascal's bichon.

"No, I don't think Troy would like that." Gabriella got out of bed, and put Monty of the floor. "The sooner you get out of here, and let me get dressed and get Troy up, the sooner you can eat." Without anther word, Monty ran out of the room.

Troy was asleep on his back in just his boxers when Gabriella went into his room ten minutes later. Already, clothes and such were sprawled out all over the place. Gabriella shook her head, typical guy to make a mess already. She straddled Troy's chest, and planted a simple kiss on his lips. His lips curled upwards in a smile as his eyes fluttered open.

"Now I _much_ prefer that to my regular alarm clock," he said as he sat up. Gabriella curled up in his lap.

"Monty just came up to tell me that's he's hungry, and we have to get up so he can eat lunch," she said.

"Monty?"

"Adam's youngest son, he's two. So I told him that I'd wake you up without putting their dog in your room-"

"I much appreciate that."

"And tell you that it's time to get up. We slept until noon."

"Well seeing as we didn't actually get a decent night's sleep until about 6 AM, and our minds are set on Mountain Time, we only slept until 10 AM, and it's _still_ too early to get up." Gabriella smiled as she climbed off the bed. She tossed the first set of clothes she could find at Troy's face.

"Come on, get dressed, I'm really hungry too." Gabriella turned around when Troy didn't get up. "What's wrong?"  
"I was thinking-"

"Oh no, this can't be good." Troy gave her a dirty look. "I'm sorry baby." Gabriella sat down on the bed across from him. "What's wrong?"

"Should we call our friends and tell them where we are? I mean, when we stop showing up for school and everything they're going to get worried. What do you think?"

"I thought about that too, but here's the thing, if we tell them, then they're just going to keep bothering us about it. What I think we should do, even though it's probably not the smartest thing to do is stop talking to them for a while. Tell our parents the same thing, that way they won't tell them either. We'll screen our calls on our cell phones, if they email us about it, either don't reply or change the subject. It's probably not the smartest thing to do right now because they'll get mad at us, but it'll keep them from worrying about Ian if we just keep reassuring them that we're safe." Troy kissed Gabriella's cheek. He knew it would be hard for the both of them if they stopped talking to their friends in a while, but agreed to her idea.

Later that afternoon, Troy was lounged across Gabriella's bed on his laptop while Gabriella was busy putting her clothes in her closet and dresser. Adam knocked on the doorframe, and came in.

"Hey you guys, I managed to get you both something to do next Monday afternoon," he said. Troy sat up.

"Really?" asked Gabriella. "What?" Adam pulled two tickets out of his pocket.

"Our ten year anniversary for _Rent_ is on Monday, I got you guys front row tickets after pulling a few strings." Gabriella's face lit up, and she gave Adam a huge hug.

"Really? That's awesome! Thank you so much!"

"I also got you passes to the after party afterwards. So, here you go, and try and keep you busy schedules clear for next Monday." Gabriella took the tickets.

"We'll try, but like you said, we're just _so_ busy!" Adam laughed.

After Adam left the room, Gabriella lay down next to Troy on the bed, and kissed his arm. He was _actually_ doing his school work. When she pointed this out, he rolled his eyes.

"My life's not completely run by basketball," he retorted. Gabriella kissed his neck tenderly.

"Oh really Mr. Bolton? Name one other thing that completely controls your life twenty-four, seven."

"You." Gabriella was surprised by Troy's response. Troy rolled over, and wrapped his arms around her. "That's why I'm here with you. I couldn't stand to be away from you, especially when I knew that you would need someone to talk to. So, Ms. Montez, do you want to talk about all this?" Gabriella shook her head.

"What's there to talk about?" she replied bitterly. "We're here, and I'm worried about my Mom, and how our friends are going to react to us being gone, and I don't really want to talk about it right now, Troy. Maybe later. I have some more unpacking to do, and you should probably do the same thing." Troy took that as a hint to leave. He grabbed his laptop, and let Gabriella unpack in peace and quiet.

Gabriella stayed in one of those moods until the _Rent_ performance. She would put a smile on her face for Troy and Adam, but inside she was hurting. She was worried about her Mom, and her friends, and the Bolton's. The gang was calling and emailing Troy and Gabriella a lot, but they simply deleted the emails, and didn't answer their phones. Eventually they'd call their friends, but not at the moment.

"Troy! Gabi! Let's go!" Adam called from downstairs. Gabriella grabbed her purse, and pounded down the steps at top speed. She was ready for the time of her life, and a chance to forget about Ian for at least a little while.

**A/N:** The Rent10 performance is real…and completely HILARIOUS beyond belief (you'll see why once Gabi starts mocking Adam in the next chapter!). Please keep Ms. Carolyn Gipe, and the family of the late Mr. Leonard Cave in your thoughts and prayers. They're teachers at my school, and were hit by a drunk driver. Check out _Off-Set_ (link on my profile) if you're a Rent-head!

Tina101


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12:**

Gabriella could barely contain her excitement. There she was, sitting front row center at the Tenth Anniversary _Rent_ Reunion Show. She _never_ thought that she'd be in New York to see it! But then again, she wasn't in the Big Apple under the best circumstances. The lights dimmed, and the show began.

"Your cell phone off?" Troy whispered in Gabriella's ear seconds before the music began. Gabriella nodded. A ripple of excitement tore through the audience. Gabriella watched the actors perform with complete fascination. They messed up a few times, but that was okay. Adam started singing Jesse L. Martin's lines in the song _Rent_, Jesse shouted out some profanities during _I'll Cover You_, Idina Menzel forgot her lines for _Over the Moon_ and _La Vie Bohemé_, and she kept flirting with her husband Taye Diggs. All in all, it was an amazing performance, and both Gabriella and Troy were thrilled beyond belief that they had been there to see it. Their favorite part was in the end when every cast member that had been in _Rent_ on Broadway and could be at the performance came out to sing a finale of _Seasons of Love_. A standing ovation was given at the end, and was greatly deserved by the actors. When Gabriella checked her messages after the show, she noticed that she had an abnormal amount of messages. Neither Troy nor she knew what their parents were telling their friends, but it kept the majority of the calls away. Now, however, Gabriella had about 20 messages from the gang.

"Hey baby, how many messages are on your cell phone?" she asked.

Troy pulled out his phone, waited as it turned on, and replied, "Crap! I have like 25 or something. Wait, they're all from the gang. Why do you think they're calling?"

"I don't know, one second. This one's from Bri. One sec." Gabriella covered her one ear with her free hand so she could hear the message better.

"Gabi?" Bri's frantic voice said. "Where the hell are you and Troy? I just saw the news report that they've been looking for Ian for the past week and a half. You guys aren't sick I take it. _Please_ call me when you get the chance!" Gabriella swore under her breath.

"What's wrong?" Adam asked as he approached the couple. Gabriella stuck her phone in her small denim purse, and sighed.

"Our friends know about Ian and how there's a manhunt for him out West," she replied.

"Wait, how? I thought your parents weren't going to tell anyone about why you guys left."

"They didn't. The evening news did."

"Don't worry about it. That means that they're looking for him, and now the public is too. They'll catch him in no time, and you'll be back home. Now come on, I'm taking you backstage."

The following afternoon, Adam was having the seven other principal cast members from _Rent_ over for a small get together. Gabriella was sitting cross-legged on the couch with a pad of paper balanced on her leg, a pen in one hand, and her cell phone in the other when Idina and her husband Taye arrived.

"What are you doing Gabi?" Adam asked as he led his friends into the family room.

"Listening to my messages," replied Gabriella without looking up. "And keeping track of how many times each of my friends has called me. They _really_ need lives, and need to stop calling during breaks."

"Oh, I thought you were making a list of reasons why you love me." Gabriella made a face which Adam promptly returned. Idina and Taye laughed.

"Now why would I do that? I'm making a list of the times you screwed up so I can hold it against you one day in the near future. It also has times that you've screwed up in a show, and I did the same show perfectly fine."

"I want a copy of that," Idina commented. Adam rolled his eyes, and threw a pillow at Gabriella. Without missing a beat, Gabriella returned the blow.

"Be nice to me Gabriella Montez, or else you're sleeping on the deck tonight." Then, Adam and Taye went out back to see what Troy, Monty, and Lennon were doing.

"Montez? You're Mom's name wouldn't happen to be Rosa would it?" asked Idina. Gabriella nodded.

"Yeah, it is. Do you know her?" Idina sat down in the chair across from where Gabriella was sitting.

"We grew up together, and survived Adam together. How is she? Is she here? Last I heard, she was moving out West for some job offer in New Mexico or something."

"We moved to Albuquerque a little over two years ago. My Mom's not here though, my boyfriend who is somewhere around this place and I are here for a little while visiting and stuff."

"Wow, missing school to see a show. Well, tell your Mom that I said hi. We'll have to get together one day if she's out here, or I make it out West."

Gabriella got a chance to talk to Idina, Adam, several of their other friends during dinner a little later that evening.

"You're a singer, right Gabriella?" Fredi Walker asked. Gabriella blushed and nodded."eard, she was moving out West for some job offer in New Mexico or something." a pen in one hand, and her cell phone in the othe

"Yeah, Troy and I have been in the past two musicals together, but not this year. Our friend Sharpay and her twin brother Ryan are taking the leads in _The Wiz_," she replied.

"What have you been in?"  
"Troy and I had the lead roles in the musical our friend wrote our freshman year. Last year, I was Aida and he was Radames in _Aida_. And unlike Adam, we did the performance _without_ any trips to the emergency room." This time Adam made a face at Gabriella, and she returned it.

"I like this girl! She's not afraid to let you know what she thinks of you!" exclaimed Idina.

"Yeah, well, that's not the best sometimes."

Gabriella's cell phone began to vibrate in her pocket, causing her to jump. She managed to pull it out, and look at the Caller I.D. before putting it back.

"Gabi, I think you should call at least _one_ of your friends. I know it might a little weird for you to be nice for once in your life, but I think you should call someone," Adam said. Gabriella groaned.

"Fine. Now I have to figure out who to call. I can't call Bri, Chad, Sharpay, Ryan, Zeke, or Taylor."

"Why?"  
"Sharpay and Taylor can't really keep a secret for long. If I tell Zeke, Sharpay's boyfriend, he'll tell her. If I call Ryan, her twin brother, he'll tell her. Bri's dating Ryan, and Chad's dating Taylor, and is Troy's best friend. See, there's this whole process I have to go through to figure out who to call, but I think I know who I'm calling. I'll be upstairs." Gabriella got up to go to her room to call her friend in peace. Fredi, Idina, and Adam went back to their conversation.

Gabriella pulled out her cell phone, and dialed the familiar phone number. Her heart began to race. Troy wasn't going to be happy about the phone call, but Adam was right. Someone needed to know that they were safe, and this person was the best person to tell a secret around, and Gabriella trusted them almost as much as she trusted Troy. She closed the door to her room and began to pace as the phone rang. One ring, two rings, three rings, four rings; Gabriella was about to hang up when-

"Hello?"

"Hey Kelsi, its Gabi."

**A/N:** There you go, chapter 12. Written at midnight when I should be cleaning my room. Please review!

Tina101


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13:**

Kelsi, Sharpay, and Taylor were all sitting on the floor in Kelsi's family room, supposedly studying when Kelsi's cell phone began ringing. When she saw who it was, she immediately jumped up to leave.

"Who is it?" Sharpay asked as she tucked a strand of her perfect blonde hair behind her ear.

"I'll be right back," Kelsi said quietly, intentionally avoiding the question. Sharpay and Taylor looked at each other. It wasn't like Kelsi to not tell them something.

Gabriella bit her bottom lip. What was she thinking? Troy wasn't going to be happy at first when he finally does find out, but she really didn't care at the moment.

"Hey Kelsi, it's Gabi," she said.

"God, is that really you?" asked Kelsi. Gabriella smiled.

"Yeah, it's really me. I figured that I should call someone, and after a long process, I chose you. You should be honored."

"I am, so now tell me where the hell you and Troy are." Gabriella froze. Kelsi was swearing. That couldn't be good. The fact that Kelsi was swearing told Gabriella that she was a little upset about her and Troy leaving.

"I'm in New York City."

"New York City? What are you doing all the way out there? We thought that you were at Troy's Aunt's house or something in Arizona."

"Yeah, right. We found out about Ian the evening of the Talent Show, and a good family friend of mine from New York was there, so he said that I could come to his place. Troy, of course wouldn't let me leave without him. So, here we are, at a party, in New York City."

"A party in New York City? As in, with a famous celebrity and paparazzi and stuff?" Gabriella couldn't help but laugh.

"Yeah, right. There are a bunch of celebrities downstairs, and I know one of them. Take a guess, I told you guys that I know him." Kelsi began to wrack her brain in hopes of remembering who Gabriella was talking about.

"I have no clue Gabi. Who are you staying with?"

"Adam Pascal. Roger from _Rent_. Remember when we were watching the movie how I told you that I know him? He flew out to see the Talent Show, and go down to Santa Fe with his one son, and I'm staying at his place along with Troy."

"You're so lucky! So who exactly is at this fun-filled party you're at?"

"Umm, the people from _Rent_, the Original Broadway Cast. They had their Tenth Anniversary Show yesterday, and now Adam's having a party. We got to go to the show, and the after party yesterday, which was really fun."

"Gabi? Gabi?" Lennon called.

Gabriella stuck her head out her bedroom door, and replied, "One minute, I'll be right there."

"Mommy wants to know how many burgers you want."

"One's fine, I'll eat Troy's if I'm still hungry."

"Okay."

"Sorry Kels, so, what's up with school and everything?"

"Nothing much. The normal stuff. Basketball season's over, so Chad, Zeke, and Jason have a life."

"I'm sure you're happy about getting Jason back."

"Well, I'm still helping out with _The Wiz_, along with Bri, Ryan, and Sharpay. We open in two weeks. Are you going to come home to see it?"  
"If they catch Ian, then yes. If not, then we're stuck out here for a few more weeks."

"Wow, that really sucks. Oh, people at school are talking."

"Talking about what?"  
"You and Troy, and where you two disappeared to. It's never a good sign when two of East High's most popular students simply disappear. Once the news station put the story out about Ian, everyone stopped talking. Some people realized that that was your Mom's boyfriend, and set the record straight. Oh, and keep your cell phones off starting from like right after we get done here."

"Wait, why?" Gabriella sat down on her bed.

"Taylor, Sharpay, and Chad all came up with this _brilliant_ little idea. They're going to call you and Troy non-stop until you finally get pissed and pick up the phone. You know, smoke you both out. We've all been dragged into this little mess; it's crazy."

"Oh, I'm sorry Kelsi. We should have told at least someone, but we were in such a rush to get out, and if you all just thought that we were sick, it would have been easier."

"Hey Kelsi, who's on the phone?" Gabriella heard Taylor ask their friend.

"Lie, please Kels, tell them that it's your cousin or something like that. _Please_," she pleaded. Kelsi sighed.

"It's my cousin. She had a question for me. Umm, no, I'm not coming out to visit you this summer, my friends and I are going to hang out, and stuff." Gabriella stifled a laugh. Kelsi wasn't a bad actress! "Yeah, I know that sucks. I gotta go. Bye."

"See 'ya Kels." The two friends hung up, and Gabriella turned off her phone.

Troy was talking with Adam and Taye when Gabriella got downstairs. She wrapped her arms around his waist, and kissed his cheek softly.

"Turn off your cell phone, I just got off the phone with Kelsi," she whispered in his ear before resting her head on his shoulder.

"Turn off my phone? Why?"  
"They're going to call us non-stop until we pick up apparently at some point tonight. Just turn it off!"

"Okay, okay, I will. Adam wants us to sing _Elaborate Lives_ for everyone."

"Uh-uh, no way."

"And why not?" Adam asked.

"Troy's best friend, with the maturity level of a toddler, ruined the song for us."

"How?"

"He was reading over the script, and when he got to the part right after _Elaborate Lives_, he exclaims, in the middle of lunch, 'Oh my God! You guys have sex!'" Adam and Taye both began to laugh. "It's not funny! Troy and I were bright red, and everyone but Chad's girlfriend was laughing hysterically. He didn't let it go for a week."

"Sounds like you have some nice friends," commented Taye. Gabriella rolled her eyes.

"That's what people call that now," she replied sarcastically.

Around ten o'clock, Gabriella was completely wiped. She didn't know why though, she hadn't gotten up until almost noon that day. She said goodnight to everyone who was still at the party, and went upstairs to her room. She immediately crawled in bed, and fell fast asleep. She didn't hear when Troy came in, covered her up with the comforter she hadn't even bothered to use, kissed her cheek, and told her that he loved her. Adam, however, saw the whole thing. He instantly knew that Gabriella meant the world to Troy, and he was glad the basketball player had come to New York too. He offered Gabriella with some support he and Cybelle couldn't.

A month of waiting. A month of lying to friends, and waiting for that one call that would instantly send a young couple home. Gabriella was in her room getting a ponytail holder when her phone began to ring. She groaned loudly. She wanted to be downstairs. Idina and Taye were over, and she wanted to go hang out with her new friends. Gabriella instantly stopped groaning when she saw who it was…her mother.

"Hola Mamí!" she said when she picked up the phone.

"Mija, I have something to tell you."

**A/N: **if everything goes as planned, only two more chapters. Please review! Much love.

Tina101


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14:**

The color drained from Gabriella's face instantly. She had a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach as she sat down on her bed.

"Okay, I'm listening," she replied. Rosa laughed.

"Don't sound so nervous Mija, this is _wonderful_ news! They caught Ian!" Gabriella let out a squeal of delight, and began to bounce up and down on her bed like a small child.

"Really? When, where, _how_?" she demanded.

"They posted a plainclothes officer outside our place, and he's really sweet too. I think you'd like him."

"Mamí, personal life later, facts now!"

"Okay, okay, gosh. Anyway, apparently Ian's a blockhead-"

"I could have told you that."

"And he tried to come back to our place. Officer Weller caught the bastard, and the rest is history. You and Troy get to come home!" Gabriella squealed again.

"I'm going to go tell him right now! Taye Diggs and Idina Menzel are over for dinner tonight, so he's outside with Adam and Taye playing basketball." Rosa chuckled.

"Jack will be happy to know that Troy kept in shape. Have Adam call me at some point, it doesn't matter how late."

"Okay, I will. Adios Mamí."

"Adios Mija." Gabriella hung up her phone, and bound down the stairs.

"Whoa, slow down Gabi!" Cybelle exclaimed as Gabriella came rushing into the kitchen. "Where's the fire?"

"No fire, just a call from my Mom. They caught him!" Cybelle gave Gabriella a huge hug.

"That's great honey! I guess you're finally going home! Does Troy know yet?" Gabriella shook her head. Cybelle shoved her towards the backdoor. "Go tell him now, and tell the guys that dinner's almost done." Gabriella nodded, and skipped out the door. Idina smiled.

"What was that all about?"

"Things were crazy for Gabriella at home, so Rosa sent her here. Troy wouldn't leave her, so he came too. We didn't know when they'd be able to go home, but I guess now they're leaving." Cybelle looked at Gabriella who had a huge smile plastered across her face. "I haven't seen her smile like that in a _long_ time. Things have been really rough for her this past year." Idina looked at the young woman outside. She wished she could have offered her some support while they were together, but she didn't know that Gabriella was going through such a rough time.

"Troy!" Gabriella announced. The three men stopped playing basketball. "My Mom called; we're going home!" In a flash, Troy had Gabriella in his arms. He spun her around, and kissed her passionately.

"No joke?" he asked. Gabriella whacked his arm playfully.

"Would I joke about this?"

"No, sorry, I'm used to Chad and his sick jokes." Gabriella gave him a quick kiss on the lips.

"I'm in a good mood, so I'll forgive you just this once." Taye looked at Adam with a confused look on his face.

"It's a long story, but Gabriella and Troy have been here for a month, and haven't been able to go home the entire time," explained Adam. Taye nodded. He didn't want to press the matter.

Gabriella and Troy were in the best moods ever all evening. Monty and Lennon were upset that they were leaving, but Gabriella assured them that they'd be back for two weeks in the summer. Gabriella was packing up some of her stuff when she felt Troy wrap his arms around her.

"Can you believe it?" he whispered in her ear. She shook her head.

"No, I can't believe we're finally going home. We'll get to see our friends again!"

"Yeah, but we won't get to spend as much time together, and we'll have to go back to school."

"Troy, it's the middle of May, we'll only have to go to school for three more weeks, I think you can survive."

"Who said that I couldn't survive school? It's the not being with you so much that'll get me." Gabriella spun around, and snaked her arms around Troy's neck.

"You can still come over after school to hang out until my Mom gets home, and I can still go to your house. We'll still see each other everyday, just not all day everyday." Troy kissed the top of her head.

"Still, I want to spend some time with you tonight." Gabriella glanced over at her closed door. She knew that Adam and Cybelle would be downstairs for a while, but what if one of the boys came into her room for something? "Don't worry, it won't be making out, it'll be more like spending time together."

"Oh darn, I was looking forward to making out some."

Troy smiled mischievously as he began to kiss Gabriella passionately. They tumbled onto her bed, lips still locked. Only when their brains were screaming for oxygen did they stop. Gabriella rested her head on Troy's bare chest, and closed her eyes. Troy gently ran his fingertips up and down her arm, sending shivers down her spine.

"So I take it you're excited to go home?" he asked her after several minutes of simply enjoying each other's company. Gabriella nodded as she wrapped her arm a little tighter around Troy's waist.

"Yeah, I get to see my Mom again, and our friends. They've been really worried about us. I feel bad for just leaving."

"We should have done things differently, and told them. If God forbid, something like this happens again, we'll know."

"Don't talk like that Troy! Something like this isn't going to happen again!" Troy gently scratched her back.

"Sorry. Really, I _am _sorry. I know that this has been stressful for you, and now you can finally go home." Gabriella snuggled closer to her boyfriend.

"I love you, Troy," she whispered. Troy smiled, and wrapped his arms around her.

"I love you too baby." He kissed her head, and they simply enjoyed each other's company until they fell asleep.

When Adam and Cybelle went upstairs about an hour later, they found Gabriella's door open slightly, which they found odd. Cybelle quietly opened the door, and found Troy and Gabriella curled up on the bed together, asleep. Adam immediately rushed off to get something from the master bedroom, while Cybelle covered up the teenagers with the comforter folded at the end of the bed. a minute or so later, Adam returned with his camera in hand.

"Adam!" hissed Cybelle. "What are you doing?"

"What? Can't I get one picture of them?" Cybelle shook her head.

"Why do you need a picture of them asleep?"  
"One, because they look so happy, and two, to use as blackmail against Gabriella." Cybelle snorted.

"Blackmail? Against Gabriella Montez, one of the sweetest girls ever?"

"She's nice to you. Come on, one picture, two tops. Please?" Adam gave his wife a pleading look, causing her to cave. He took two quick pictures, and once he was satisfied, he went to tell his sons goodnight before going to sleep himself.

Gabriella boarded the plane, fingers entwined with Troy's. They weren't flying alone though. Adam was taking the boys out west to see Rosa, and do a little more sightseeing, because their last trip was cut short. Troy took the window seat, Gabriella sat next to him, Lennon on the end, and Adam and Monty sat in front of them. Gabriella almost immediately rested her head on Troy's shoulder, and tried to fall asleep. She didn't get any sleep the night before, and had been up late the night before that packing. She was beyond dead tired. The flight was pretty uneventful. Lennon watched movies and played games on Gabriella's laptop for half the plane ride, and then was forced to give it to his brother by who else, Adam. Troy and Adam talked in quiet voices in hopes that Gabriella would eventually fall asleep, though she never truly did. She figured that she must have at least dozed off for a few minutes, because Troy was soon waking her up because they were landing. The group got off the plane, got their bags at the baggage claim, and got into the rental car.

Adam had strict directions from Rosa and the Boltons to take the teenagers straight to school. Due to the time difference, it was lunchtime at school when the couple got there.

"Wait, I want to do something," Gabriella said as they all stood in the doorway to the lunchroom.

"Can't it wait?" Troy practically whined.

"No, it can't. it'll take a minute, so you can wait." She pulled out her cell phone, dialed star 69, and a _very_ familiar number.

Taylor's cell phone began to ring in her purse. She swore under her breath as she pulled it out. She knew that it was one of her friends prank calling her even though they were sitting directly across from her, but she wanted to find out who. When she got to her phone, there wasn't a number flashing across the screen. She pulled her sweater, rather the sweater Gabriella had loaned her ages ago and she never gave back, tighter around her, and answered her phone.

"Hello?" Taylor expected to hear Sharpay or Chad laughing, and a _click_, but she didn't.

"What are you doing wearing my sweater?"

**A/N:** About one more chapter left! Hopes for a sequel at this point: 75 percent chance.

Tina101


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15:**

"Wait, Gabi?" Taylor asked, thus getting the attention of the entire group. They all waited quietly to see if it really was their friend.

"Yeah, hey, you didn't answer my question."

"Question?"  
"Yeah, what are you doing with the sweater I loaned you _months_ ago and you _never_ gave back?"

"Where are you?" Gabriella gave Adam a quick hug, and he took the boys back to the Montez's house where they would be staying.

"Turn around genius," she said as she and Troy walked into the noisy cafeteria. Taylor immediately spun around in her seat between Chad and Kelsi. The rest of their friends' gazes quickly followed her. In a flash, they were all up and surrounding Troy and Gabriella. The group made as much noise as they wanted, they didn't mind the weird stares they were getting. Troy and Gabriella were bombarded with questions from all their friends.

"God, where were you guys?" demanded Chad.

"You had us worried sick!" Bri exclaimed. Sharpay was the first one to realize that they were standing in the middle of the cafeteria.

"You guys," she said. "Here's a thought, let's sit back down, and _then_ force Troy and Gabriella to explain themselves."

Everyone took their regular seats at their table. Gabriella rested her head on Troy's shoulder; she was still wiped.

"Okay, now start from the beginning," Jason said. Troy started while Gabriella listened.

"We found out that Ian had gotten loose the evening of the Talent Show. We were gone by midnight. Gabi had a close family friend at her house, so we went to his house back east. I wouldn't let her go alone, so I was allowed to go with her. We've been in New York City the entire time," he explained. "Did I miss anything?" Gabriella shook her head.

"That's about it," she said. "We hung out in New York, and did our school work via email or even fax machine."

"So the teachers knew?" Chad asked, slightly hurt that nobody had told him about Gabriella and Troy leaving.

"Yeah, they knew, but only the basic facts. That Ian was on the loose, and we'd be out of state until he was caught, for safety reasons," replied Troy.

"And you didn't want to tell any of us so we wouldn't worry? So you didn't call or contact anyone, but got all our messages?" Zeke asked.

"Yeah, we got all of them, I found them amusing," Gabriella said as she sat up.

"They didn't completely break off contact," Kelsi said, speaking up. "Gabi called me about a month ago. It was the day after we saw the thing on Ian on the news. Remember, I told you that it was my cousin?" Sharpay and Taylor nodded.

"That was you?" demanded Taylor.

"Yeah, don't get mad at Kelsi, I asked her to lie for me, I didn't think that she'd actually do it though! We've rubbed off on her some." Jason wrapped an arm around his girlfriend's shoulders, and kissed her cheek, causing her to blush.

"So who were you staying with?" he asked. Kelsi bit her tongue; she wasn't going to tell them everything.

"You'll get to meet him tonight, he's staying here for a few days, seeing the sights and junk," Gabriella replied. "You all can come to my house for our usual party and such."

"Alright! You both are late with your turns," Sharpay said. "What movie are we watching?"

"What if we watch _Rent_ again? For old times' sake?" suggested Troy.

"Oh no, I don't know if that's a good idea. I gave it to the boys to watch at my house, so their Dad will be really tired of it by the time we get home. Scratch that, he's been tired of that movie since like it came out," Gabriella informed him. Troy smiled. Nobody knew what she was talking about.

"You gave _Rent_ to a four year old and a two year old?"

"They're five and two, and they've seen it _tons_ of times. I wouldn't give them a movie like that if I wasn't sure that they had seen it already."

"Okay, if we don't watch _Rent_, what do we watch?" Taylor asked.

"Let's figure that out later. Right now, we have Gabi and Troy back!" exclaimed Sharpay. The gang all clapped and cheered.

By the time Gabriella got home, she was dead tired. Everyone was set to come to her house around six, but Troy was coming around five. He was going to go home first, to see his Mom before going to Gabriella's.

"Gabriella!" Rosa Montez exclaimed the second Gabriella walked into the house. She gave her daughter a crushing hug. "It's so good to have you back again!" Gabriella could tell that her Mom was crying.

"Hola Mamí. It's good to be back." Gabriella returned the hug. The Mother and daughter walked into the kitchen. In the family room, Adam was reading a book while Lennon and Monty were trying to put together one of Gabriella's old puzzles. It was part of the collection of toys the Montez's kept at their house for when the two boys came to visit.

"So, Adam said that you went to see that big _Rent_ performance. How was it?" Gabriella sat at a stool at the island while Rosa leaned against the counter across the island from her.

"It was awesome, if only Adam knew all his lines." Rosa laughed.

"I knew my lines, it was just, that, I was umm, stressed," Adam said in hopes of defending himself.

"Sure you were Adam, you keep telling yourself that," Gabriella said. She turned back to her Mom. "It was fun. I really wanted to come home though. I was stressed."

"You still want to go back in the summer with Troy for two weeks?"

"Of course I do!" Rosa laughed.

"All I'm doing is checking. Oh honey, they called me in to work today. I kept trying to tell them that you've been gone for a month and I wanted to spend some time with you, but they wouldn't listen. I'm sorry. I'm off all next week though, and I told them that there's no way that they can drag me in, so we can spend next week together after you get home from school." Gabriella hid her pain fairly well. It was something she had learned after her encounters with Ian.

"Oh no, it's cool. We can go shopping or to the movies next week. My friends are coming over. They're dying to know who Troy and I were staying with."

"Don't I get any say in this?" Adam called from the other room.

"Do you want me to have my friends over next weekend, and just hang out tonight?"

"No, it's fine. I was only being a pain."

"You do that well."

"What kind of daughter have you raised Rosa? She always treats me like this." Rosa laughed.

"You both have _always_ had a relationship like this, so it's nothing new. I didn't raise her any way." She looked at her watch. "Mija, I've got to go." She kissed her daughter's cheek. "I'll be back around midnight. Have your friends gone by 12:30 if I'm not back by then. Did you hear that Adam? You're the chaperone."

"We're all going to die," Gabriella said under her breath, but just loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Yeah, teenagers out of here by 12:30, but alcohol out of here by 10:30 so they have some time to sober up before I send them on their merry little ways."

"Very good. I'll see you all later. Bye Monty! Bye Lennon! Bye Adam! Adios Mija."

Monty and Lennon waved goodbye to Rosa while Gabriella got up to go in the family room. She slid off her flip-flops, and lay down on the couch.

"Tired?" Adam asked. All he got was a groan. Lennon got up, and scrambled onto his Father's lap.

"I wanna watch _Rent_ again Daddy. Please?" The five year old began to pout.

"Aww come on, don't I get a break? You've watched it twice since we got here."

"I wanna watch it again. Please?" Adam rolled his eyes.

"Fine, if it keeps you quiet. Monty, you want to watch it too?" Monty shook his head as he got up to go lay down with Gabriella. He lay down on top of the teenager, and she draped an arm over his waist. They were soon both fast asleep.

Adam put in _Rent_ for his oldest. Lennon got a hold of the remote control for the DVD player, and proceeded to watch _One Song Glory_ continuously; Adam lost count after seven. Gabriella and Monty remained fast asleep during the whole repetitive process. Somehow, Monty's thumb had found its way to his mouth. At 5:10, Troy unlocked the front door to the Montez house, and walked right in. Adam had been warned by Rosa that Troy and Taylor usually didn't knock, and both had keys seeing as her daughter has had a habit of locking herself out.

"Hey everyone," Troy said as he came into the kitchen.

"Shh!" Lennon snapped as he turned around. He was sitting as close to the TV as Adam would allow, and was watching _La Vie Bohemé_ for the fourth time.

"Okay, sorry. Where's Gabi?" asked Troy.

"Asleep on the couch," Adam replied.

"Great, I need to borrow her car. I was going to ask, but now I won't." Troy dug through Gabriella's backpack until he found her keys. "My Mom's car is in the shop, so they've been using mine instead of getting a rental. I'm going to run to the store to get soda for tonight. I'll be right back. Lennon, you wanna come?" Lennon shook his head.

"No, why would he want to go? He's been watching to same scenes over and over again since Gabriella got home," Adam said in a semi-frustrated tone. Troy laughed.

"Have fun. I'll be back in ten minutes." He shoved Gabriella's keys in his pocket, and left.

Fifteen minute later, Troy returned to the Montez household with four bottles of soda for the get together that would take place in less than half an hour. He sat down with his back up against the coffee table, and talked to Adam until he heard the doorbell ring. The whole time, Lennon had been bouncing in his seat, lips moving to the words of the _entire _movie. The second he heard the doorbell, he bolted for the door; Troy hot on his heels.

"Freeze!" exclaimed Troy when he saw Lennon's hand on the doorknob about the open the front door. Lennon pouted, and backed away from the door. Troy picked him up, and held him sideways on his hip. He opened the door, and found Taylor and Chad standing there. "I thought you never knocked at this house Tay."

"Yeah, I got mad at Gabi for leaving, so I took her key of my key ring, and promptly forgot to put it back on.," she explained.

"Lemme go Troy! I wanna finish watching the movie!" Lennon exclaimed as he wiggled in Troy's grip.

"You know what's going to happen."

"But I wanna watch it!" Lennon finally broke free of the teenager's grip, and bolted for the family room.

"Who's the kid?" Chad asked rather bluntly.

"That's who we were staying with in New York."

"You were staying with a five year old in New York City for a month? Sounds like fun!"

"No, his Dad's in the other room genius." Troy began to lead Chad and Taylor to the family room, but Taylor remained standing in the doorway. "What's wrong Tay?"

"That kid seems _really_ familiar. He looks like some kid Sharpay brought a picture of in to school a few days ago."

"Now why would Sharpay have a picture of him?" Chad asked. Taylor shook her head.

"The main focus wasn't him. It was that guy from _Rent_, Adam Pasc-" Taylor trailed off. "Who did you stay with, Troy?" Troy smiled mischievously.

"Come and meet him for yourself," was all he said. Taylor rolled her eyes; men. She followed Chad and Troy into the other room.

Adam was still reading his book, Lennon was jumping up and down, singing along to _La Vie Boheme_ (still), and Gabriella and Monty were still asleep on the couch through all of this.

"Lennon! Are you trying to drive me insane by playing the same songs over and over again?" Adam demanded in a hushed tone so he wouldn't face Gabriella's wrath.

Lennon looked over his shoulder, and asked simply, "Is it working?" Adam groaned.

"You've been spending too much time with Gabi." Lennon flashed a baby smile, and went right back to what he was doing.

"Hey Adam, this is my best friend Chad, and Gabi's best friend Taylor." Adam put his book down, and looked up.

"Hello, welcome to your worst nightmare. I hope you don't mind watching _Rent_ over and over again, because you will be until you leave," he said before shaking both Chad and Taylor's hands.

"Nice to meet you," Taylor said.

"Same here. It's nice to finally put some faces to names after hearing about you guys for a solid month."

"Wow, a month with two teenagers in the house, something you'll have to get used to," Chad commented.

"Not for about ten years. Plus, if I get tired of them, I'll send them to live with Gabi."

"I'm sure she'll love you forever then," said Taylor.

"I'm sure. Hey Lennon, why don't you wake Gabi up?" Lennon bounced up and down as he went over to where Gabriella and Monty were sleeping. "Wait, wait, WAIT!" Adam picked up Monty. "Okay, continue."

"Adam, what did you feed him?" Troy asked.

"McDonalds. Then he took a nap this afternoon, Monty didn't if you couldn't already tell, and Rosa gave him sugar coated cereal or something before leaving me to put up with him." Adam sat back down, with Monty curled up in his lap.

Meanwhile, Lennon stood above Gabriella's stomach. He suddenly sat down, causing her to groan.

"Wake up Gabi!" he squealed. Gabriella groaned, and took the pillow she was using, and threw it in Lennon's general direction.

"What do you want?" she grumbled, eyes still closed. Lennon began to bounce up and down.

"Wake up! Wake up! Daddy says that it's time for you to get up! You're friends are here!" Slowly, Gabriella opened her eyes, and sat up. Lennon didn't get up off her stomach, proving it to be slightly more difficult than it usually would be.

"Hey guys," she said sleepily.

"Morning sleeping beauty," Chad said. Gabriella scowled, and threw a pillow at him. She hit him square in the face. "Oww! Not cool Gabi!"

"Yeah, well, you annoy me, and that's not cool either." Chad shoved Gabriella's feet off the couch, and sat down. Gabriella slammed her feet down in his lap.

"Don't bug me Chad Danforth, I'm still tired."

"Yes ma'am. I know much better than to mess with you when you're tired. It's one scary thing!" Gabriella began to kick his thigh with her foot. "Hey, this is abuse!" Gabriella immediately stopped. Abuse. That was one word none of them brought up; it held too many horrible memories for Gabriella. The second the word slipped past Chad's lips, he realized what he did, and leaned over to hug his friend. "I'm sorry Gabi." Gabriella returned to hug.

"Don't worry about it. I'm going to go get my bathing suit on. I'll be right back," she replied before sliding off the couch, and skipping upstairs.

**A/N:** Crappy place to end a chapter, I know, and I'm sorry! The next chapter will be the last one, and then there _will_ be a sequel…eventually. Much love!

Tina101


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16:**

Twenty minutes later, Gabriella came rushing down the stairs. She heard the voices of all her friends sitting around in the family room talking, and the sound of _Rent_ still playing in the background.

"God woman, it took you long enough!" Zeke exclaimed when he saw Gabriella come in the room.

"Shut it Zeke. Do you want to try and go find something in my room? It looks like a bomb went off in my closet," she replied.

"Wait, you're room's a mess?" Sharpay asked.

"I'll say," Adam commented, earning him a whack from Gabriella.

"It's about time! You're room's always perfect, it's nauseating!" Sharpay continued. Gabriella stuck out her tongue.

"Say we go out front for a little while? We have that old basketball hoop and all," she suggested. The guys (including Ryan and Adam) all jumped at the idea of playing basketball, and hightailed it out front.

"Some things never change," Taylor commented as she and the other girls followed their boyfriends and Adam. Monty was now awake, but a little dazed and shy about all the new people being around.

The guys got the basketball out of the Montez garage, and quickly split up into two teams. The girls had grabbed Gabriella's laptop from next to the front door, and set it up with a blanket on the front lawn. Gabriella immediately began to search the web for video clips of the _Rent_ performance so she could show her friends. After being out front for about fifteen minutes, Adam's cell phone began to ring. He had left it next to the laptop so it wouldn't fall out of his pocket and break.

"Hey Adam! Your phone's ringing!" Gabriella announced without looking up from her computer.

"Would it even cross your mind to answer it?" Adam shot back as he called a time out. An evil smile flashed across Gabriella's face. "No wait, scratch that. I know what you'd do."

"And what's that?" Adam stopped. "Exactly. I'll tell you what I'd do. If it was someone I knew, like your wife, or something, I'd start up an extensive conversation and use up all your minutes. If it _wasn't_ someone I knew, I'd still start up an extensive conversation, and use up all your minutes." Adam rolled his eyes as he answered his phone.

"Hello?" The girls only heard one side of the conversation. "Oh, it's you. I'm kidding, I'm kidding, don't have a cow…no pun intended." Adam laughed. "Yeah, we got here safely. Until Monday. I was going to take the boys to see Wilson and Kate, but I changed my mind. Yeah, she's right here." Adam turned to Gabriella. "Weren't you supposed to call someone when you got here? I've known her for too long, and she sometimes wears green makeup just for kicks?" Gabriella stood up.

"Crap! Is that who's on the phone?"

"Yeah! Who did you think it was? Cybele?" Gabriella nodded. "if I talked to my wife like that…" Adam shuddered. "Here, talk, _don't_ use up my minutes!" Gabriella took the cell phone.

"Oop!" she exclaimed. She heard Idina laugh.

"It's okay. I can't believe you had to go to school! Cybele told me, and only for two hours!"

"I know, that's why I didn't call you. Adam took us to school, I came home, saw my Mom before she had to go to work against her wishes, and then I fell asleep on the couch. Lennon woke me up about half an hour ago. So, we're here safely."

"That's good. You remember how we were talking before Taye and I left Adam's the other day, you said that if we were ever down in New Mexico, and that mi casa es su casa bit?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, what exit is your place?" Gabriella let out a squeal.

"No way! You're down here?" Adam let out a groan, and took a foul shot. He missed.

"Sorry to spring this on you. I'm touring the country and visiting all my friends. I got tired of being home alone all week and being in Toronto. There's nothing for me there."

"Yes there is, you're married to something there."

"I am? Oh yeah. Okay, tell me what exit you are, so I can stop by tomorrow."

"Stop by tonight. I want you to meet my psycho friends and everything! Please?"

"Fine, tell me so I don't pass it." Gabriella gave Idina quick directions to her house.

"Got it?"

"Yes. I'll see you in about twenty minutes then?"

"Yep, see you then." Gabriella hung up the phone, and tossed it down on the blanket. "See? I didn't use up all your minutes!" she exclaimed. Adam rolled his eyes.

"Right now, minutes are the least of my worries. The two women in my life that make my life a living nightmare are about to be together…again. You guys have this eerie bond that makes my life miserable."

"I love you too." With that, Gabriella flopped down on the blanket.

"Who's coming?" Taylor asked. She didn't get why Adam was so upset about this unknown visitor.

"Promise you won't like freak out and all…okay?" replied Gabriella.

"We promise," Sharpay said, holding up the girl scouts sign. "Besides, I didn't freak out when I saw who you were staying with."

"That's because your brother _and_ your boyfriend were with you!" Bri interjected. Sharpay shrugged. That was true.

"Okay, Idina Menzel is about twenty minutes away. She got tired of being home alone in New York and being in Toronto."

"No way!" Kelsi exclaimed. "How is that you get all the luck?"

"Sure I'm lucky. After all the crap I've been through, I'm lucky." Kelsi gave Gabriella a hug.

"I'm sorry. You know what I mean though! You get to miss school, stay in New York, and meet all these famous people!" Gabriella shrugged.

"I've never really seen Adam as being famous. I've known him forever. When people are like, 'Adam Pascal is _so_ hot' or something-"

"Like we were," Taylor said.

"Yeah, like you guys were, I was thinking to myself, it's Adam, no big deal. I've known him since I was born. He's like a brother to me."

"Brother, not Father?" Bri inquired.

"Yeah, right. You've seen how we treat each other. Not exactly a Father-Daughter relationship. He's like a brother or something to me. It's hard to explain." Gabriella turned her attention back to her laptop. She began to dig through her collection of music stored on the machine to find a song to listen to.

Twenty-five minutes later, a red Jaguar pulled up outside Gabriella's house. The second Idina got out of the car, Lennon and Monty ran up to her.

"Hey!" she exclaimed as she scooped the two small boys up in her arms. "How are my boys doing?"

"What are you doing here?" Lennon asked rather bluntly. Idina's face fell.

"Oh, I see I'm wanted here. I got bored being home alone, so I came to visit you and Gabi. Is that alright with you?" Lennon stopped to think.

"I guess so." Idina kissed his cheek.

"Good answer. And how are you Monty?"

"I tired," the toddler replied before wiggling free of Idina's grip. The actress put Lennon on the ground and went over to Gabriella.

"Hello stranger," Gabriella said as she stood up and gave Idina a hug. "Glad to see that you didn't get lost."

"Yeah, well, that GPS system in the car might have helped a little."

"Just a little?"

"Yeah, just a little. So, are these all your friends that you told me about?" Gabriella nodded.

"Yeah, these are all my friends." The two sat down, and introductions were quickly made.

Gabriella lay down on her stomach on top of the shirt she had discarded. She was in a bikini top, and pair of cut-offs. Monty came over to her, and lay down on her back. After a few minutes, he began to trace the scars on her back.

"How did you get these?" he asked as he continued to trace them. The girls all exchanged looks. Idina knew something was up, but didn't want to press the matter…it wasn't her place.

"I fell sweetie," Gabriella replied rather smoothly. Monty accepted the answer, and kept doing what he was doing. "So you got bored in Toronto?" she asked Idina.

"Basically. All I was doing was sitting around when I was there. You're lucky that Taye was in town the other day, he's normally not. Tracie was up from Philly for something, so we all went out to lunch that day that we were at Adam's for dinner. I left with Tracie, spent a few days with her, flew out here, and leave in two days to go see Wilson and his girlfriend in L.A. for a few days. Then I get home in time for Taye to come home next Friday."

"Busy, busy." Idina talked with Gabriella and her friends, and felt like a teenager again.

After watching Adam get his butt kicked in basketball for nearly an hour, they all decided to go out back and use the Montez's new pool. Gabriella sat on the edge of the pool with her legs in the water. Troy was leaning up against her legs, talking to his girlfriend.

"So you glad to be back?" he asked. The phone ringing in the kitchen caught Gabriella's attention.

"Hold that thought," she said before scrambling to her feet. As Gabriella bolted into the kitchen, she slid on the tile floor.

"Carefully Gabi! The floor's slippery when wet!" Adam announced. Gabriella stuck her tongue out, and answered the phone.

"Hello?" she asked sweetly.

"Is Rosa there?" a man asked.

"I'm sorry; she's at work right now."

"Is this Gabriella?"

"Yes…"

"This is Sam; I'm the plain clothes officer that was watching over your Mom while you were gone. Do you know when your Mom will be back?"

"She got called into work tonight."

"On the day that you come home?"

"I know, but she didn't have a choice. Do you want me to tell her that you called?"  
"If you don't mind. Do you know what time she'll be back?"

"After midnight. I'll leave her a note or something to tell her though."

"Thanks. It was nice talking to you, and welcome home." Gabriella blushed. She liked Sam, he was nice.

"Thanks. Bye." Gabriella hung up the phone, and rushed back outside to where all her friends were talking and having a good time.

"Who was on the phone?" Adam asked. Gabriella got into the pool, and leaned up against the wall by where Adam was sitting.

"Someone for my Mom. I'll have to tell her when she gets home later tonight." Gabriella's mind was still set on East Coast Time. Around ten PM, she curled up against Troy on one of the pool chairs, and dozed off. The gang and Idina took this as a hint that they should get going. Troy gently nudged his girlfriend.

"Come on, Gabi. Everyone's gone. It's time to get up." Gabriella groaned, and sat up.

"They all left?" she asked. Troy got up, and began to guide her inside. They were the only ones left outside. Adam had taken the boys inside to go to bed. they were sleeping on an inflatable mattress in Gabriella's room.

"Yeah, Idina said that you guys should go shopping or something tomorrow. Call her when you finally decide to join the living race tomorrow." Gabriella scowled. When she and Troy got inside, she gave him a quick kiss.

"Okay, I will. I love you."

"I love you too." Gabriella watched as Troy opened the front door. "oh, and I borrowed your car keys. They're back in your purse."

"I'm _way_ too tired to got there right now. I'll see you later. Bye." Troy waved as he walked down the street.

"Bye." Sighing, Gabriella went upstairs to get changed.

Gabriella grabbed her pajamas off the pile of clothes in her room. She had been in such a rush to pack that it looked like her closet had blown up, and then when she topped that with her clothes from her suitcase, and Monty and Lennon's stuff; it wasn't a very pretty sight. A tapping noise on the door leading to her deck caught Gabriella's attention. Standing outside was Troy. Smiling, Gabriella slipped outside quietly so she wouldn't wake up Lennon and Monty.

"I thought you left," she whispered as she snaked her arms around Troy's neck. Troy wrapped his arms around Gabriella's small waist, and kissed her forehead.

"Well, since I'm wanted _so_ badly, I guess I'll leave." When Troy tried to break free of Gabriella's grip, she only held on tighter.

"No, no, no, that's okay. I was a little startled that you're still here, that's all. What can I do for you, Mr. Bolton?"

"Well, there are two things. Sharpay and Taylor came up with what we're doing for the talent show next year, and I told them that I'd tell you." Gabriella listened intently. "There's some bonus track at the end of the _Rent_ movie soundtrack that they really like." Gabriella nodded. She knew what they were talking about. "_Love Heals_ or something like that. They really want to do that next year."

"Sounds like fun. Maybe we'll have more time to practice next year. You said that there were two things you wanted to talk about."

"I'm getting there. God woman, have some patience!" Gabriella smiled, and kissed Troy's cheek.

"Sorry. Please continue."

"Okay, you never told me if you're glad that you're home." Gabriella kissed Troy's lips tenderly.

"Yeah, I'm glad to be home."

A lone figure watched from the guest bedroom next to Gabriella's room. He didn't want to break up such a cute couple by enforcing a curfew that he hadn't been told about. Adam watched Troy and Gabriella for another minutes or so. They shared a kiss, and Troy climbed down the tree next to the deck, and stole away in the darkness. _Gabriella's lucky to have such a good boyfriend by her side_, Adam thought as he climbed into bed. Troy passed the test; Adam liked him, and didn't mind someone dating what he thought of as his daughter.

**The End**

**A/N:** Sequel news: the sequel will be called _He's Back_, and will be written…eventually. It's not who you think it is though. Amuse me with your guesses about who you think is back! Thanks for all the WONDERFUL reviews through this whole story!

Tina101


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